


A Dream We Found Huddled Under a Cloak of Stars

by AyuOhseki



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Language, Multi, Persona 5 Spoilers, Polyamory, Redemption, Romantic Rivalry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-09-06 01:18:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 60,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16822252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyuOhseki/pseuds/AyuOhseki
Summary: (Spoilers through December.) It turns out that removing a ship's rudder isn't nearly enough to sink it. Having survived the battle in Shido's Palace, Akechi agrees to help the Phantom Thieves of Hearts find another way to take out the Tokyo conspiracy as his way to atone. To that end, he partners with Haru to play the detective prince besought by the poor, bereaved heiress to find her father's killer. However, while she forwarded this plan, she still hasn't forgiven him. After all, heisher father's killer. Each of them realizing the other has feelings for Ren, who's agreed to mediate between the two and who welcomes both of their affections, is sure to ease that friction not at all. Is there a future the three of them can reach together, or will facing his sins only lead Akechi deeper down the path of destruction?





	1. You’re Going to Live a Long, Full Life

The low buzz of electronics threaded through Akechi’s ears and groaned like the dead inside his brain. He groaned in kind, rolled his head on his pillow, and lifted one arm to try to block the invasive sound. Immediately, he regretted it. His body felt as battered and wrung-out as old laundry.

“Good, you’re awake,” a familiar voice said from close by.

Resentment bubbled up inside Akechi in time with the pounding at the sides of his skull, and he squinted against the low, artificial light just so he could glare up at the voice’s source.

Ren gazed down at him, expression unperturbed despite the knock-down, drag-out battle to the almost-death he’d had with him and his friends just last… night? Was it last night? How long had he been asleep?

Where was he, anyway?

“Take it easy,” Ren added when Akechi struggled to push himself upright from a cot; he reached out to help him up, and Akechi’s feeble attempts to swat him away did nothing to dissuade him.

Once he was sitting upright, Akechi took a moment to take stock of himself. He wore a bathrobe-like hospital gown over a bare chest and, thank god, his school uniform slacks. He rested on a simple bed, more like a spacious cot, with his head on a pill-shaped pillow and paper-thin sheets draped on top. The wall to his immediate left had a bulletin board draped in posters. Heavy green curtains cloaked the wall behind his head, and an IV pack dangled from a metal pole.

Past Ren, who sat on a stool, there was a cluttered desk with a computer and a model of several spinal segments on it, a rotating chair, and an LED screen attached directly to the wall behind the computer monitor. The screen displayed a set of X-rays; nothing about them seemed unusual. To the desk’s left was a small storage rack, and the wall behind it also displayed several posters and prints, most if not all of them about health. There was also a calendar, which still showed December, but since the days weren’t crossed out, that told him little beyond that he hadn’t been unconscious for more than a month. To the desk’s right was a storage cabinet on which rested a printer and several books and binders, and next to that was another IV pole. A plastic bin peeked out from under the bed; the rest of his uniform laid inside, folded neatly, with his shoes and socks lined up on the floor next to it.

“We’re at a clinic near Leblanc,” Ren said again, answering one of Akechi’s unspoken questions. He turned his glare back at him, but Ren was no more fazed than before. “A friend of mine runs the place. She let us drop you off here for the night.”

Akechi rubbed his temples in a feeble attempt to stave off the pain. Another friend of Ren’s. Naturally. But—yes, that was right… It was starting to come back to him now. In Shido’s Palace, he’d fought with everything he had and more against the Phantom Thieves in the name of protecting the man he hated most. His cognitive double had gotten the jump on all of them, Akechi had shot the emergency shutter button, and Ren…

Almost as if he’d known what would happen, Ren—Joker—had grabbed him and pulled him to the other side just before the shutters had slammed down and cut off the cognitive Akechi.

At that point, he’d passed out, so his memories came in tiny, disconnected shreds from when he swam in and out of consciousness. He gathered they’d dragged him outside, where he’d been in no condition to protest, much less struggle. And they’d brought him to Yongen-Jaya, and caught a woman as she’d been locking up, and…

“Why did you bother?” he asked. His voice crackled from dryness. God, he needed water. Water and painkillers, or else this headache was going to be the death of him.

As if answering his silent prayer, Ren took a paper cup of water from the desk and handed it to him. “We weren’t going to leave you to die.”

Akechi made a face, but sipped it down anyway. After letting his thoughts churn and clear, he frowned at him. “‘For the night,’ you said?”

He nodded. “I came in this morning to check on you. Dr. Takemi says, based on a cursory examination, it doesn’t look like there’s anything wrong with you aside from severe exhaustion.” He quirked a half-smile. “The wonders of healing magic. Even if it _was_ just the dregs after all that.”

That explained a lot. “And here I thought you were going to make a jab about appearances being deceiving.”

“I considered it.”

Akechi rubbed his temples again, this time easing his knees up to be an elbow-rest. It had only been one night since that battle, then. Despite losing, he’d at least run the Phantom Thieves ragged, made them have to retreat. His cognitive double would be on the alert, too… Ha. Ha ha ha _ha_. How stupid of him to worry. Of course Shido would have his own defense mechanisms in case of mental intruders. He knew better than anyone what his personal assassin could do.

Those thoughts worsened his mood. He crumpled the empty paper cup in a fist. “Now what, then?” he said, clipped. “You know I won’t just let you steal his Treasure.”

“You’re not in a position to stop us.”

Fear lanced through him, both slick and icy. He grabbed Ren by the lapels of his hoodie and dragged him closer. “Don’t you _dare_ —” he began, and then rasped in pain as the tempo of his throbbing headache ramped into a rave. He panted for breath as cold sweat dotted his forehead, while Ren wrapped gentle arms around his shoulders. That only made him angrier. He leaned back just enough to glare murder at him.

“I’ll kill you in your sleep,” he hissed.

Ren smiled back. He looked like he was enjoying himself, damn him. “Unlikely.”

Akechi grit his teeth. But his head swam, so he bowed it on Ren’s shoulder, hating him the whole while. Ren stroked his back for a moment in a way that was _not_ soothing, damn him all the way to hell, before easing him down onto the cot.

“Looks like you still need time to rest. But you’ll live.” He paused a beat. “I’m glad.”

His head hurt so bad. “Why?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you glad?”

“Because I don’t want you to die.”

“ _Why_?”

The two stared each other down for what felt like an eternity. Though Akechi had had no intention of backing down, he lost the staring contest first when a pulse from his headache made him grimace. Ren rested a hand on his head for a second; then he stood up.

“I’ll get Dr. Takemi for you,” he said. “She’ll keep an eye on you for now. Let her know what you need, but don’t cause her any trouble, okay?”

“Wait,” Akechi uttered, scrambling back upright, and headache be damned. He had one leg slung off the side of the cot before Ren leaned forward to grab him by the shoulders and stop him. Akechi grabbed him back by the wrists.

“You’re going back to his Palace, aren’t you? Take me with you,” he pleaded, dispensing with all pretense. “If I can’t stop you, I want to at least see things through to the end.” And, because he knew his rival held all the cards, he swallowed his pride and finished: “ _Please_.”

Ren stared into his eyes. Even from this close up, they were so dark it was like staring into the starless night sky. Akechi couldn’t read a single thought of his at all. Then, with gentle implacability, Ren pressed him back down.

“Rest now,” he murmured. “We’ll talk about the Palace tomorrow.”

Akechi struggled at first, but after a certain threshold, his body sank down of its own accord as if dragged down under the sea. _Bone tired:_ that was the phrase that bubbled up to mind. He didn’t have the strength to keep resisting. A compromise, a delay, would have to do.

“Fine,” he murmured back, and shut his eyes.

He listened to rubber on tile, to quiet footsteps, to the subtle squeak of an opening door. It yawned close to shut but didn’t quite click, so he could hear the conversation on the other side.

“So how’s he doing, my little guinea pig?”

“Fine. Ish. Fine-ish. He needs some painkillers, I think.”

A sigh. It had a good-natured ring to it. “And now the drugs? You’d better hope he has his insurance card on him.”

Ren sounded amused. “If not, I’ll owe you one.”

A chuckle. “Don’t bother. I’m the one who owes you. By the way...”

“Hm?” A second of silence. Then, with happy surprise: “Haru! Sorry, I didn’t see you there. When did you get here?”

“It’s all right. And not too long ago, so don’t worry,” Haru reassured him. Akechi could hear her smile, just as he could hear its absence when she continued, “So if he needs painkillers, does that mean…?”

“Yeah. He’s awake.”

A small, displeased sound. For all that they’d chimed in with Ren to try to talk him down last night, Akechi expected all of the Phantom Thieves disliked him now, if they’d ever liked him in the first place. Haru, though, had especially strong reason to hope he’d sleep forever. He wondered why she was here in the first place. She spoke again, but this time with voice lowered; he couldn’t catch the next piece of conversation between her and Ren.

It didn’t last long. He snagged a fragment of the doctor’s voice before the door opened again. “...just lucky I don’t have any appointments for today,” Dr. Takemi was saying; he peered at her to see her balancing a tray with pills and a tall glass of water on one arm as she looked over her shoulder at Ren. “I can let him crash here one more night, but after that...”

“That’s fine,” Ren said at her back. Haru, next to him, didn’t look happy, but she kept her mouth shut. “Thanks for everything.”

She chuckled and turned. Ren and Haru followed her inside, and she made no effort to stop them, opting instead to cross the room and set the tray down on the stool still at his bedside.

“So you’re Goro Akechi, hmm?” Dr. Takemi said, hands in her lab coat. He recognized her bob-cut hair and little black dress; she was a fellow patron of Café Leblanc, though they’d never spoken before. “Never thought I’d meet the infamous celebrity detective like this.”

He rolled his head to one side. The tray had two large pills, each a different shape and color. He grabbed them both and eased himself up enough to pick up the glass with them. “‘Infamous’ makes it sound like you think it’s a bad thing,” he noted before swallowing them down.

“I’m not fond of the limelight,” she replied, shrugging. “Since you’re up, mind if I ask a few questions about your condition?”

Letting the doctor do what she needed to was probably wise, but… Akechi glanced over at Ren and Haru, who were watching in silence. “Amamiya.”

“Hmm?”

“You still haven’t answered my question from before.”

“Question?”

“About why you saved me.”

Ren shared a glance with Haru, then with Dr. Takemi. The doctor stepped back and to the side.

“Later, then,” she concluded. “Don’t keep him up too long.”

Ren nodded. Once the door shut behind her, he looked back at him in thoughtful silence.

Haru, meanwhile, had folded her arms, still frowning. “Why is it so difficult for you to understand why he would do such a thing?”

Akechi frowned back. Those drugs were a wonder; his pain was already starting to abate. That made it easier for him to form his argument. “Shido’s cognitive version of me had us all dead to rights. It would’ve been easier and safer for you to let things run their course. If you’d been a second slower, you would’ve been trapped on the wrong side of the flood gate and ended up dead.”

 _As dead as I was supposed to be,_ he didn’t add, but in the pause that followed, he could feel the words floating like dust motes in the air between them. He wondered if Ren and Haru could feel them too.

But Ren shrugged. “Leaving you to die just isn’t my idea of justice.”

“You had no way of knowing a flood gate would drop after I shot that button,” he insisted. Letting him get away with such a glib answer rubbed him the wrong way.

“I had an inkling.”

“You expect me to believe you risked your life based on an inkling?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say… It’s the truth.”

He pounded a fist on the cot in frustration. “Don’t be ridiculous!! Nobody would’ve blamed you if you’d done nothing! Why did you go out of your way to do something you didn’t have to?! That nobody asked you to do?!”

Ren looked at him with those thoughtful, piercing eyes he hated in particular. Whenever he looked like that, he felt like he was about to see clear through him.

Like so: “Akechi. Did you _want_ to die?”

He opened his mouth, then shut it, perturbed. Even though he’d predicted it, Ren had still caught him off-balance. How did he always… He shook his head to rally himself and stammered, “N-no, that’s—”

Haru cleared her throat, silencing him, and rested a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “Ren, may I?” When he nodded her on, she took a step forward and met Akechi’s stare, hands folded primly in front of her. “Excuse me for butting in, Akechi-kun, but I think I can explain this in a way you’ll understand.”

His frown deepened. Still, he said, “...Go ahead.”

“After I joined the Phantom Thieves, Ann and Makoto filled me in on the previous cases, all the way to Mr. Kamoshida,” she said. “I was particularly interested in that first case, because that was when everything about the Phantom Thieves was established. Ann, Ren, Mona-chan, and Ryuji weren’t concerned with fame or anything like that; they sought nothing more than justice against an arrogant tyrant who had hurt one of their friends, was hurting our entire school, and threatened to do even worse if left unchecked.”

“I’m not seeing your point.”

“I asked Ann in particular,” Haru continued, ignoring his interruption, “how they knew that Mr. Kamoshida wouldn’t die if they removed his desires. She told me they didn’t; they took a gamble on what Mona-chan believed was likely to happen. Then I asked her, what kept her from killing Mr. Kamoshida anyway? He’d done terrible things to her and her dear friend Shiho, and the only witnesses to her crime would have to admit they were complicit in it. Because they were in the cognitive world—in a Palace that would collapse as soon as they’d stolen his desires—there wouldn’t even be a trace of proof, either, beyond the words of her accomplices.

“In other words, it was a crime for which she could never be tried. She could carry out her desire for revenge and never be punished for it.

“Do you know what she said, Akechi-kun?”

Akechi managed not to squirm under the weight of her stare. He said nothing.

After an oppressive moment of silence, Haru continued, “She said, ‘Kamoshida was the worst kind of scum. That’s _why_ I didn’t kill him, even though I wanted to. For everyone he’d ever tormented, there was no way I was going to let him get off as easily as dying.’” Haru’s eyes, usually so kind, narrowed into something as cold and hard as an ax blade. “Goro Akechi. You, of all people, don’t get to run away from what you’ve done. If I have my way, you’re going to live a long, full life, and you’re going spend every last second of it atoning for your crimes.”

His nails dug into his palms. “...I see. That definitely does make more sense. And it carries a certain extra gravity coming from you, Miss Okumura,” he concluded, deliberately using the English prefix.

Haru lifted her chin and gave him the picture-perfect nod of a refined heiress. “I’m glad you understand, then.”

Ren glanced back and forth at the two of them, then slipped his hands into his jeans pockets. “Akechi. Do you regret what you’ve done?”

Akechi pursed his lips. “...I have a lot of regrets.”

Ren gave him a knowing look. He was sure he understood that wasn’t the same thing. “Since you’re a fellow Persona-User, you know perfectly well we can’t force you to have a change of heart. If you ever have one, it has to come from you.”

He clenched his teeth.

“Even if you never do, though,” he continued, “I don’t think it’s right to abandon you.”

Akechi flinched—no, ‘flinched’ wasn’t the right word. It was like he’d been stung right in the heart. His lips parted...

“I agree,” Haru said then, her stony gaze unwavering. “And if you’d been listening to us properly during our battle instead of throwing a violent tantrum, you’d know that.”

...and then shut. A heartbeat later, he murmured, “Somehow, your tongue seems much sharper than usual.”

“The entire time you spent with us as a Phantom Thief, I knew you were my father’s killer. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m relieved to no longer have to hold back.”

Ren smiled at her, faint but sincere, before looking over at him. “Haru’s been under a lot of stress lately. You can’t say you don’t deserve it, either.”

Akechi sighed, shoulders sinking. “...No, I suppose not.” He rubbed his forehead. His original headache was mostly better, but he had two more brewing. Then he laid back down. “Excuse me. If I’m going to recuperate, I’ll need my rest—right?” He fixed the pair with a tight, bitter smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll behave myself until tomorrow.”

Haru glared at him, but Ren nodded.

“Take care,” he said, “and see you soon.”

The two of them left together, shutting the door properly this time. Akechi thought Dr. Takemi might enter again once they were gone, but then drowsiness roared up over his consciousness like the tide coming in. He blinked once, twice, and then no more as slumber washed over him.

* * *

At some point, he dreamed of police sirens. Or maybe it was real; he couldn’t quite tell.

* * *

When Akechi next awoke, his headache had cleared, only to leave behind a haze of grogginess. Dr. Takemi sat at her desk, and, when he stirred with a groan, wheeled around to face him with legs crossed.

“So Sleeping Handsome awakens,” she drawled, a pen between two fingers. “I was starting to worry.”

A surge of panic rose in his chest. “How long have I…?”

“By my watch? Just shy of thirty hours. It’s just past noon right now.” She leaned on one hand. “I’m surprised. I didn’t think you’d sleep longer the second time. I thought I had the sedative’s strength down, but it interacted with the painkiller harder than I anticipated. Don’t worry; I’ve already made a note of it.”

Thirty hours. So over a day, but not much longer. If it was noon now, then it must’ve been the morning after the battle when he’d last been awake. He pushed himself upright and swung his legs off the cot. No dizziness. That was good. His mind felt… not exactly clear, but he had a firm grasp of the situation. If it was functionally only a day later, then there should still be time. He wasn’t happy about being given a sedative along with a painkiller, but there was no point in complaining about it now.

“I’m checking myself out,” he said instead.

“Thank god. This is a clinic, not a hospital. I don’t have the spare room to keep you holed up here forever.”

He frowned. “Then why did you put me up in the first place?”

“Did you forget already? It was a favor to Amamiya.” She paused. “Well, you weren’t awake for long, so maybe you _did_ forget. Either way, I really recommend you check in at an actual hospital.”

His shoulders tensed. “Why? He said you said there was nothing wrong with me.”

She smiled knowingly. “Did he? Well, he might’ve dragged you here in the dead of night and begged me to take care of you, but that doesn’t mean he’s got a right to your medical records.”

 _Begged?_ No, there was something more important there. Akechi gripped the edge of the cot. “...So then what does that mean for me?”

“Not sure. I did some blood work on you, checked your vitals, and a few other things while you were asleep.” She shrugged. “You’re not in critical condition, obviously, but you’re not exactly healthy, either. Aside from exhaustion, there was a bizarre amount of stress on your system. Unfortunately, I don’t have the equipment here to make a more detailed assessment. Like I said: you should check into an actual hospital. Just to be safe.”

He pursed his lips. Then he shook his head. “It’s probably just exhaustion from overwork,” he lied. “I appreciate your help, but I’m sure I’m fine.”

Dr. Takemi eyeballed him. “How’re you feeling? Any pain?”

He shook his head. Yesterday’s monster headache was but a dream now.

“Dizziness? Light-headedness? Nausea?”

“All I feel is hunger and a need to use the facilities. On which note, if you could kindly direct me to your bathroom...?”

She shook her head, then jabbed her pen towards the bin under the bed. “Out the door and to the left. You can get changed there, too.”

“Thank you.”

He opened the door with caution; once he confirmed there was no one in the waiting room and the blinds were shuttered close enough to keep anyone outside from spotting him by chance, he took his uniform and shoes to the unisex one-stall bathroom and locked the door. It had plenty of space, probably to accommodate persons with disabilities, so once he did his business and washed his hands and face, he took his time to get dressed.

His wallet and phone were missing, to his alarm, but he still had a comb in his inside breast pocket, so he neatened his hair while fighting down dread. He had no toothbrush, so he scrubbed his teeth as best he could with a piece of paper towel, then washed and dried his hands again. He inspected his reflection, and once he was satisfied, he pulled on his gloves and left.

Dr. Takemi was at the medicine pick-up window next to the door out. He inquired after his missing items there. She handled his wallet back no problem, though she refused his insurance card or even any money, but she didn’t know anything about his phone.

“Ask Amamiya,” she said with a shrug. “He’s probably holding onto it for you.”

Akechi frowned. “I was afraid of that.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. Are you sure you don’t want any compensation? I’m sure _he_ didn’t pay you off.”

“If I took your insurance card or credit card, that’d leave a paper trail that you were here,” she said. “Somehow, I’ve got a gut feeling that nobody wants that.”

“I see.”

She looked him over. Then she reached under the service window and flipped a card up between two fingers. “But anyone could get a business card from anywhere, right? So go ahead and take this. Just in case you turn out to be not as fine as you thought, and a hospital is mysteriously not an option.”

He accepted and studied it for a moment. It included her name, her credentials, and the clinic’s name, address, and phone number. True; Dr. Tae Takemi was on the list of suspects for Phantom Thief associates. If someone found him with this, he could easily explain it away. With that in mind, he slipped it into his wallet, which he tucked away. “Thank you for your consideration, Doctor.”

“It’s nothing. By the way, you aren’t in any trouble, are you?”

He blinked in surprise. “Why do you ask?”

“There was a great big ruckus a street or two down last night, thanks to the cops swarming around.” She leaned her chin on one hand. “Thought they might’ve been looking for you, but they didn’t even try to knock around the neighborhood.”

His dread intensified. “By ‘a street or two down,’ do you mean Café Leblanc?”

Her dark eyes narrowed. “Good instincts, detective. So why _did_ Amamiya drag you half-conscious to my clinic?” She paused a beat, then added with real concern, “Is _he_ in trouble?”

“That remains to be seen.” He scrutinized her face. “Did anything else significant happen last night?”

Too casual to be sincere, she leaned back and shrugged, arms held broad. “Who knows? I was too busy watching over a certain TV detective to pay attention to current events.”

“I see.” He flexed both hands in and out of a fist. “Then I suppose I’ll just have to retrieve my phone and find out.”

“Good luck with that.”

Akechi left the conversation and the clinic at that.

* * *

One look inside Leblanc and Akechi knew: the Phantom Thieves had stolen Shido’s Treasure.

It was a simple deduction.Aside from Futaba and Morgana, who were sitting at the bar, and Sojiro Sakura, who was standing behind it, Ren and his friends were in the middle of cleaning the place up from, based on what remained, having been trashed. Even if the police had come by, they wouldn’t have reason to rip the place apart unless they were looking for something—or someone—and the only person they might want that badly was the suspected leader of the Phantom Thieves. Akechi hadn’t told anyone else his suspicions that Ren was actually still alive, ergo the only way they could know to look for him was if the Phantom Thieves had issued an advance notice for Masayoshi Shido. And if the Phantom Thieves were all here, including Sojiro, who would certainly have been seized in Ren’s place, that meant that they must have been successful. The only thing that would make the police suddenly stop caring about nabbing culprits was if Shido’s heart had been changed, placing their immediate futures in dire jeopardy.

Which meant one other thing in turn.

“’Sup, Akechi,” Ren said, straightening from the table he’d been wiping down, with infuriating casualness.

“ _You_!” he snarled, stride gobbling up the distance between them. The others scrambled out of his way. “You said you wouldn’t steal Shido’s Treasure without me!!”

Ren blinked once when Akechi grabbed him by the shirt; then he settled. “I never said that,” he replied, mild as apple curry. “I said we’d talk about it the next day.”

He rocked back in shock. That… was absolutely true. He hadn’t promised a thing. And like an idiot, he hadn’t read anything into his lack of commitment. When realization faded a second later, renewed fury rose in his throat like bile. “You never had any intention of bringing me along!!”

Ren’s eyelids drooped to half-mast. “Obviously.”

Sojiro cleared his throat behind them. “Damn, I could go for a smoke,” he announced to the room. “I’m gonna take a walk, enjoy a cigarette.” A warning note entered his voice: “Don’t you kids break anything, you hear?”

Akechi’s jaw clamped too tight for him to respond. Ren said nothing either. Everyone waited until the door jangled shut; then Makoto, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, and Haru formed a half-circle around him, blocking him from the exit.

“Akechi,” Makoto said, voice flat, “you must realize there was no way we’d actually bring you.”

He released Ren to half-turn a glare at her, but the rest of Ren’s friends presented an unimpressed wall.

“Seriously,” Ann chimed in, “you know none of us trust you after you betrayed us, right?”

Yusuke nodded agreement, frowning. “There’s a league of difference between saving your life and trusting you with ours.”

 _None of you trusted me in the first place,_ Akechi thought, but that would only highlight their point. “You all know how much this meant to me,” he snapped instead.

“Y-yeah, and?” Futaba said, voice cold.

“For real, man,” said Ryuji, shaking his head. “It’s not like none of us feel for you. You wanted to punch your shitty dad in the face—yeah, I get that. But we heard you out while you were tryin’ to _kill_ us, dragged you outta there before _you_ got killed, an’ I’m still not hearin’ a ‘thank you’!”

“I didn’t _ask_ for your _pity_!!” Akechi snarled.

“No, you just asked Joker, a man you tried to kill _twice_ , to put you on the team,” Morgana pointed out, ears and voice arch. “What is that, if not asking for pity?”

The truth of this stung Akechi enough to make him flinch. “You’ve all made a big mistake,” he growled to cover it up. “Don’t think any of you will lead a peaceful life after this—”

“Enough.”

Akechi half-turned to glower at Ren, who had interrupted him. Ren glowered back.

“ _I_ made the call to ditch you,” he murmured. “Leave the others out of it.”

“The others? You mean ‘the others’ who helped you evade detection even though you were all under surveillance? You mean the source of your strength?” Akechi sneered, facing him. “No. I overlooked them before. I won’t make that mistake again. You’ll all regret tearing my revenge from me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ryuji groused.

“You’d better believe I’m not,” he growled, glaring back over his shoulder. “I’ll teach you—”

Breaking a stillness that had reached the boiling point unnoticed, Haru moved. A second later, Akechi slammed onto the floor, her ringed knuckles imprinted on his jaw. He rolled onto his back to gawk up at her as she loomed over him.

“Hit him again!” Futaba yelled.

Paying her no mind, Haru demanded, “You shut your goddamn mouth, you self-centered son of a bitch!”

Eyebrows flying into his hairline, Ryuji uttered, “ _Damn_ , Haru!” Echoes of the sentiment bounced around the room. Akechi felt just as flabbergasted.

Her aggression dissolved, and she took a step back, looking back and forth at the others. “O-oh, was that going too far?”

“Nah,” Ren said, stepping over next to her with a broad grin. “That was hot.”

“Oh!” Then she shared that grin with him and giggled, cheeks pink.

Eyeballing the way the two gazed at each other, something clicked in Akechi’s head. He rubbed his assaulted face with the back of his hand and glowered at the floor. Ah. So _that_ was why Haru had shown up at the clinic. Ren appeared to feel the same way, too. Suddenly sick of everything, he leaned forward to get up.

A shoe pressed on his chest kept him down. Akechi snarled silently up at Ren, who had gone poker-faced.

“This whole thing with Shido’s Palace,” he murmured. “Do you feel betrayed?”

Akechi lanced him with a glare full of all the loathing he could muster. It was ineffective. “Yes,” he muttered, glancing away.

Ren moved his foot aside to stand over Akechi’s hips. He bent at the waist almost a hundred and twenty degrees to stare him in the face. “ _Good_.” Ignoring the incredulous look Akechi shot him, he continued, “You think you’re the only one with a grudge? You think you’re the only one who wanted revenge? How can you be that oblivious to other people’s feelings and still call yourself a detective?”

He grimaced but refused to look away again. “I don’t care how you feel—”

“ _Obviously_ ,” Ren interrupted. “We all know you don’t care about anyone’s feelings but your own, you self-righteous, self-absorbed, backstabbing prick.”

Akechi blinked rapidly, stunned despite himself. After how kind Ren was yesterday, he didn’t expect him to harbor such venom, no matter how evenly he delivered it. “S-so then what?” he rallied, propping himself up by his elbows. “You’re saying you have more of a right to revenge against Shido than me?”

“It’s not just revenge against him.” Ren knelt down, straddling Akechi, and grabbed him by the tie. “It was revenge against you.”

“What are you— _ow_!” He winced when Ren clonked their foreheads together, but when he cracked one eye open, he suddenly became hyper-aware of how close their faces were, the tickle of Ren’s breath on his lips, the weight of his body on his hips. Suddenly uncomfortable, he struggled to jerk away, but Ren only gripped his tie tighter and kept him close.

“Nobody fucks with my people and gets away with it,” he murmured, dark eyes deadly serious. “Do you understand me?”

“I-I...”

“ _Do you understand me?_ ”

“...Y-yes.”

“Good.” Ren let go of his tie, but in return leaned forward, pushing him down by the forehead until Akechi’s entire body quivered with the tension of not collapsing outright. “ _Don’t do it again._ ”

“O-okay,” he stammered, body tingling cold and hot at the same time, heart hammering out a percussive beat on his ribs.

“Good,” Ren repeated, and this time he sounded pleased. He rolled onto his feet and stood up. “Then we’re all clear.”

Akechi stared up at him, totally unable to follow the thread of the conversation anymore. “What?”

“You fucked us up. We fucked you up. Now we’re square. Cool?”

“That’s—that’s not how it works,” he protested.

“No?” He looked over his shoulder at the others. “Is that not how it works, guys?”

Ryuji looked dubious, but he shrugged. “As long as you’re satisfied, man.”

Makoto folded her arms. “And as long as he’s learned his lesson.”

Ann grinned. “Nobody messes with the Phantom Thieves, after all!”

“And mercy is what divides us from the corrupt,” Yusuke added with a smile of his own.

“Still think someone should punch him again,” Futaba muttered. “But wh-whatever.”

Haru didn’t smile. Still, she said, “I trust you, Ren.”

“Your sound judgment has brought us this far,” Morgana agreed, tail undulating. “If you want to mend this bridge, I’m not… _completely_ against it.”

“There you have it,” Ren concluded, looking back down at him. “Another unanimous decision.”

Akechi scowled up at him, radiating suspicion.

“Look, it’s like this, Akechi,” he added. “You lost. There’s no changing that. Either you can keep being a whiny shitty baby about it—” He bent his knees and held a hand out to him. “—or you can carry yourself with dignity. Your choice.”

His scowl deepened, and he heaved a sigh and glanced away. ‘ _Your choice,’ he says_. _What a joke._

But it was true that he was on the floor and all his enemies were looking down on him, and he’d already embarrassed himself enough the other night by losing all control. And… he didn’t… _entirely_ want to reject him.

So, with flinching hesitance, he reached out in turn and took Ren’s hand. Ren gripped him tight, stepped back, and helped him up to his feet.

Once upright, Akechi twisted his hand out of Ren’s and held it palm-up. “My phone,” he demanded.

Ren pulled a smartphone from his left pocket and gave it to him. Akechi turned it on to confirm it was his, then put it away, dusted himself off with pointed care, and looked him in the eye.

“I’m still not going to thank you for this,” he said, voice flat. “I never asked you to save me.”

Ren nodded, seemingly unbothered. “I know. That’s fine.”

Akechi peered at him. What was this sudden return to being completely unruffled?

As if reading his mind, he explained, “I did what I did because I wanted to. Your gratitude would be nice, but it’s not necessary.”

He frowned back. He… didn’t know how to feel about that. At least some of the others agreed, if the doubtful looks Ryuji, Ann, and Futaba gave Ren were any indication. But it didn’t matter. He had more important business to handle.

“I’m leaving, then,” he stated. “I have nothing more to say.”

Makoto eyed him with open distrust. “Where are you going to?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“You do you,” Ren said, affable as usual. But then his eyes narrowed. “Just don’t forget what I said.”

Akechi met his hooded stare. He would remember, no doubt. Whether that would change anything was another matter. He kept that to himself, though.

Regardless, Ren then stepped to one side to lean against a booth. The others parted, too, leaving the way out clear for Akechi. He strode out with his back straight and his head high.

Just as his hand touched the doorknob, Ren called, “Akechi.”

He scowled, but refused to turn around. “What now?”

“As long as you’re not bringing any cops or whatever with you, feel free to come back.”

Akechi couldn’t help it; he gave him an exasperated, withering look. “Why would I ever do that?”

Ren shrugged. “Just saying.”

He made a noise of irritation and looked away. “I really do hate you.”

But no one said anything else, and he left the café likewise silent.

* * *

“Are you sure that was okay?” Ryuji asked once Akechi was gone. “Givin’ him back his phone, I mean?”

“It’ll be fine,” Ren reassured him with his endless fount of confidence. Haru wished she knew where it came from; she’d like to drink from it herself.

“Not to doubt you,” Makoto said, “but what’s your basis for saying so?”

“A hunch.”

She shut her eyes, grimacing. “...I shouldn’t have asked.”

Ren crooked a smile at her. “Don’t worry. My hunches about Akechi are generally on target.”

That got most of the group chuckling. Ryuji in particular grinned. “Damned if _that’s_ not right!”

Haru, however, pursed her lips as she flicked her gaze to the floor. “Hmmm.”

Ren looked over at her and Futaba. “You two okay?”

Haru slipped onto a stool next to Futaba, on whose lap Morgana now sat, so she could scratch the not-cat’s chin. “Yes, I suppose… I just have—mixed feelings.”

“Shaken, not stirred,” Futaba cracked. Then she sighed. “Same, though. I know back on the boat we all petted him and told him he was pretty so he’d stop throwing a temper tantrum, but I d-don’t really wanna see him again.”

Expression contemplative, Ren gave the two a slow nod. “That’s fair.”

“I’m surprised you invited him back at all,” Ann mentioned. “I know none of us want him _dead_ , but… if it’d been me, I wouldn’t have told him he could come _back_.”

“Yeah. Plus I thought you hated ‘im,” Ryuji added.

“I’ve never _hate_ _d_ him,” Ren said. “I just was constantly gripped with the desire to punch him in his smug fucking face.”

Futaba smirked as the group laughed. “Mood.”

“Congrats to Haru for living the dream!” Ann cheered.

Ren caught Haru’s eye and gave her another broad grin that couldn’t be anything but approving. Haru giggled back, a buoyant feeling lifting her shoulders. She had to admit, it had been _intensely_ satisfying, and it was growing even more so now.

Yet at the same time…

_The gunshot echoed through the ship’s guts as Crow fired—not on Joker, as the cognitive Akechi had ordered, but on a red button some ways away. Everyone turned towards it as emergency klaxons_ _wailed and red lights flashed_ _._

_Everyone but Joker, who ignored his injuries to spring forward and grab Crow by the wrist. The motion caught Noir’s attention, and she whirled around to follow it._

_“What are you—” Crow had uttered. Joker yanked him forward, and together they stumbled three feet towards the rest of the Phantom Thieves._

_A second later, a heavy, corrugated steel wall slammed down from the ceiling onto the yellow-and-black striped lining on the floor._

_Noir’s heart leapt into her throat. It was only then that she understood what the button was for, and what Crow’s intent had been._

_Another gunshot rang out on the other side of the corrugated wall, and a small dent formed at approximately head level for Joker and Crow both. But it was too late. The cognitive Akechi and his Shadow pets were locked away on the other side, unable to harm any of them. They’d won._

_Noir and the others gawked at it, stunned into silence. Then Joker looked at Crow._

_“Are you okay?” he asked._

_Crow, ever gracious, shoved him hard. Joker stumbled away, nearly falling over; Noir rushed to his side and set a hand on his back to steady him, and he gave her a smile of gratitude._

_“I can’t believe you!” Crow snarled, swaying on his feet. “You—you—unngh...”_

_And then, like a marionette with its strings clipped, he began to collapse._

_Joker was there in an instant, falling on his knees to catch him in his arms. Noir and the others crowded around as he pressed a pair of fingers to his carotid; then Joker breathed a sigh of relief, shoulders sagging._

_“You dumb bastard,” he murmured, gloved hand curling around Crow’s half-broken helmet-mask._

_“God, no kidding,” Queen remarked, sending relieved laughter rippling through the team._

_Noir had kept her peace, though. From where she stood, right next to Joker, only she could see the tenderness in his eyes behind the mask as he held the man who’d just tried to kill him. Who’d just saved his life. It was a tenderness that whispered of similarly soft feelings, and it made her chest tighten like a vice to see it._

“I do have to say, though,” Morgana cut in, interrupting her flashback, “you cut him a lot more slack than I’d expected. Even if you don’t hate him, I didn’t think you liked him, either.”

Ren shrugged. “It’s hard to dislike someone that pathetic.”

Haru curled a hand over her chest and wondered if anyone else realized he was lying.

“Is that why you invited him to return?” Yusuke asked, frowning. “Although I doubt he’ll take you up on the offer.”

Ren considered this. “More or less.”

“‘More or less’?” Makoto echoed.

He nodded. “It’s like Ryuji said way back: he’s like us. I wanted him to know he’s got one last chance.” His gaze swept across the group. “We steal people’s twisted desires to make them right their wrongs. In other words, to give them another shot at being decent human beings. It bothers me to give a second chance to scum like Shido, Kamoshida, and the likes of them, but not to a fucked-up teen like Akechi.”

“Mmm…” She nodded. “When you put it like that, I see what you mean.”

“Y-yeah… true,” Futaba grumbled. “F-fine. He can come back, but I won’t like it.”

Ren smiled, as if on the verge of a laugh. “That’s fine.”

Haru raised her chin to catch his eye. Ren met hers with his always-steady, ever-calm gaze, and gave her a slight nod. It made her relax, soften, even smile. His words had been as much for her as for Futaba, and it eased her worriesthat he accepted her dislike and mistrust without judgment. But then, of course he would. She knew it, too. For all her misgivings about Akechi and how Ren felt about him, she really did trust Ren. She’d trust him about everything, _with_ everything, if he’d have her.

He smiled back, now gentle instead of mischievous, and she hoped with a fluttering heart that he _would_ have her.


	2. Dude, Make Up Your Mind Already

Akechi stopped at his apartment first to charge his smartphone, take more painkillers for his punched jaw and the new headache it had triggered, eat a sandwich, shower, and change into his spare uniform. He didn’t need to wear his school uniform, it mercifully being Sunday, but this way he could dress without considering what to wear.While in the bathroom, almost nose to nose with the mirror, he stared in particular at the bruise purpling on his jaw. It would probably fade by tomorrow, but until then… He decided to bandage it after all. A bandage was neat, tidy, hid any number of excuses. That bruise Haru had given him was angry, ugly, painfully raw—all the things inside himself that he didn’t want others to see. How like a Phantom Thief of Hearts to yank that to the surface.

After that, he took the train to the Diet Building, where he would pick up the chrome briefcase he’d left behind. Along the way, he called his school to apologize for his absence the previous day (god, had he really missed only one day? It felt like he should have been unconscious for much, much longer), explaining that he’d been caught up in an important case. It wasn’t technically a lie. Then he looked up the Phantom Thieves’s advance notice video, copies of which had proliferated on the internet, and watched. By the end of it, he had to put his phone away or risk smashing it.

Two grunt officers from the Tokyo PD, barely in the know, stood guard on either side of the door to Shido’s office. Inside, as expected, the usual suspects and then some clustered around each other, uselessly batting frantic arguments and accusations back and forth like a game of Pong: the TV station president, the IT company president, the former noble, and the politician Ooe, along with Shido’s physician and the head scientist from the cognitive psience research team. Shido himself sat at his desk, forehead bowed on his folded hands, as still as if he were taking a nap. When Akechi entered, the commotion paused long enough for everyone to stare at him. Then, once he shut the door behind him, it renewed with vigor.

The physician started, “Akechi-kun! Thank god you’re—”

“ _There_ you are!” the TV president bellowed, overpowering him. “Where the hell have you been, boy?! Look at what’s gone wrong because you weren’t doing your job!”

He gestured fiercely behind him at Shido, who lifted his head and sighed dolefully like a calf bound for the meat market. Akechi fixed them both with a long, uncompromising stare and held it until the TV president cowed and took a step back. Pitiful.

Meanwhile, the scientist frantically shushed him. “Now, now, let’s not greet Akechi-kun with accusations; I’m sure he has a perfectly good reason...” He looked hopefully at his bandage.

He ignored it in favor of asking the group coolly, “What’s the situation?”

“Dire,” said the former noble, radiating tension. “Shido-san got _weepy_.”

“Which is why we’re all _very, very glad_ you’ve shown up, Akechi-kun,” the scientist said hastily. The physician nodded along with vehemence. “R&D has no idea how we might fix him, but there’s nothing like the kind of field experience you’ve accrued, ahahaha!! I’m sure you have an inkling or two of something we could try?!”

Akechi bit back a caustic laugh. The two were practically vibrating with desperation. Considering all the very powerful, very angry men around them, Akechi probably looked like their savior angel right now. Too bad he was only anangel of death.

“Everyone, please leave the room,” he stated, radiating all the calm he could fake. “I need to speak with Shido-san alone.”

This raised another ruckus, half indignant, half protesting, all fearful. It stopped on a dime when Shido raised a hand.

“That’s all right,” he said. “I’d like to speak with you alone too, Akechi-kun.”

Akechi kept his hardened gaze trained on him while the other men in the room muttered and mumbled but ultimately shuffled out, one by one, around the twin couches separated by the glass coffee table. Once they were gone, Akechi set his briefcase aside and swept the room for bugs; he found two and destroyed them both. That there were any at all was a troubling sign. The normal Shido would never stand for it.He wouldn’t have to worry about eavesdroppers at the door, at least, since the paranoid congressman had long ago had the office renovated to be soundproof.Then he stood in front of Shido’s desk, gloved hands gripped into fists.

He nodded to him. “Akechi-kun.”

“Shido-san,” he replied curtly.

“I’m glad you’ve come back,” Shidosaid, voice kind. Almost paternal. “I was starting to worry about you.”

Akechi grit his teeth and didn’t respond.

“What happened?” he added, shifting his visual focus. “That bandage… You almost never come back injured.”

He rubbed it with the back of his hand. “I got it fighting the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.” It was true enough, and neatly condensed the events of the last two days.

“I see… So you were trying to protect me, then. That explains everything.”

That was also true enough, and it made him so angry he could chew sand and spit glass.

Either not noticing this or ignoring it, Shido sighed. “As for me, it’s been a madhouse around here since yesterday night. Ooe-san and the others haven’t let me so much as greet an intern. I know they’re only trying to look out for me as their leader, and I appreciate the sentiment, but… it’s extremely trying.”

“How unpleasant for you,” Akechi said, clipped.

Shido chuckled, as if it’d been a joke. The soundclawed on the chalkboard of his soul. “Well, I suppose you think it’s what I deserve.”

Akechi held his tongue.

He observed this, then nodded once. “You’re upset with me. I’ll stop beating around the bush, then. I want to confess the terrible things I’ve done in my pursuit to save this nation and atone—” He gestured towards the door. “—but the others absolutely refuse to let me. They intend on having me hospitalized to keep me quiet, in fact, and at this rate, I won’t be able to override them any longer.I’d like to ask for your help in circumventing them.”

Akechi’s fingertips dug into his palms. “Why do you think I would help you with this, _sir_?”

Shido raised his eyebrows, expression mild. “You were planning on something like it all along, weren’t you?”

His shoulders stiffened. “What… are you saying?”

Like a mother calming a fussy baby, Shido reassured him, “You don’t need to pretend anymore. I knew fully well you meant to betray me after the election, son.”

All the breath shot from his lungs as suddenly as if he’d been gut-punched. His mind reeled. The world seemed to tilt, and he struggled to keep his balance. His cognitive double had surprised him with the truth that Shido had planned on having him killed after the election, but this… this…

“Wha—how—you _knew_?” he sputtered.

Shido smiled at him, gentle and full of pity. “My boy, of course I knew. Once you proved you could do the things you claimed you could do, the first thing I did was run a background check. I figured out you were my illegitimate child soon after the results came back.”

He gawked at him and staggered back in shock. That long ago? The poisoned knife Akechi had kept hidden so he could make his father bleed at the height of his infernal glory—Shido had seen it up his sleeve all this time?Since that long ago? Since _almost the very start_?

_Then if he knew all along,_ he thought, gloved fingers clawing down his face, _what did I kill all those people for?!_

“I… need to apologize to you for that, too,” his father continued reluctantly, folding his hands. “I’ve put you through so much as a result. I never cared about your needs or feelings; my only concern was how I could use you to my benefit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Even though you were my own son...”

“Stop it,” Akechi whispered.

“In truth, I’d meant to betray you too,” he continued, looking back up at him with woeful eyes. “I told you before I’d give you anything you wanted after the election, but I was actually planning on having you killed to preserve my secrets. Even though you’d worked so hard for my benefit…”

He clutched the back of the couch at his right to keep from collapsing. Everything was upside-down. “Stop it…!”

“I… never respected you,” Shido said, tone and expression reluctant. “I saw you as a needy child grasping for the approval of his father—no, as a puppet who hooked himself to my marionette strings of his own volition—and held you in contempt. Yet if you hadn’t made yourself useful to me, I never would have given you the time of day. For all that, I’m truly, truly, sor—”

“Stop it _stop it_ STOP IT!!” Akechi screamed, slamming his fists on his thighs. Hate and humiliation burned through him as the threat of tears burned at the corners of his eyes. “You can’t apologize for this now, or ever!! Do you have any idea how much I’ve suffered because of you?!”

“No,” he admitted, so patient, so accommodating. “I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you and your mother. Speaking of whom, is she well…?”

“My mother is _dead_!”

Shido blinked wide in surprise. “She is?” Then he grimaced, chagrined. “Oh dear… Forgive me, Akechi-kun—this is quite embarrassing—but with all the flings I’ve had over the years, it seems I’ve forgotten: which one was your mother again?”

For an eternity of a second, it felt like his heart stopped. Then all his indignant strength drained out of him. He slipped around to the couch’s front, slumped onto the black leather seat, spiked his elbows on his knees, and buried his face in his hands.

Silence breathed the air out of the room. Then, quietly, subtly, Shido’s desk chair creaked. Measured footsteps crossed the room over to the other side of the couch. Akechi felt Shido’s presence as he sat down next to him, though neither of them spoke for several moments longer. A lens cloth fluttered in his peripheral vision as Shido cleaned his glasses; then he set them back on his face and cleared his throat.

“Does this mean you won’t help me?” he murmured.

Frustration and weary anger ripped a sigh out of Akechi. He leaned his head back. “Even with your heart changed, you’re still a selfish bastard.”

“…I’m sorry.”

He gazed up at the ceiling. So. More than two years of effort, and it had been meaningless from the start. It was almost funny. Oh, and now that he thought about it, knowing the savvy politician, he probably would have had Akechi killed long before Akechi could have whispered the truth Shido already knew in his ear, let alone expose it to the public. By stealing Shido’s Treasure and thwarting Akechi’s plans, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts had saved Akechi’s life twice over.

Yes, it was so funny, it made him sick.

“May I ask you something, Shido-san?” he asked, voice as quiet as it was toneless.

“What is it?”

“You know that the way you feel now is the result of your perception of the world and yourself having been artificially, forcefully changed. What’s your opinion on that?”

“Hmm…” Shido folded his hands. “The old me had been terrified of that, of course. If the Phantom Thieves stole my heart, all my ambitions would crumble. I truly believed that the ends justified the means—that to save Japan from its path of stagnation and destruction, any amount of sacrifice was necessary. But, as you’ve already pointed out, that was just my selfish ego talking.”

Akechi glanced away.

“A country _is_ its people. To lead a country without caring for its people is nothing more than a power trip.” Shido heaved a long, weighty sigh. “I am… unfit to save this nation. I realize that now. And I’m genuinely grateful to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts for making me realize it in time.”

Akechi squeezed his eyes shut.

The gentle pressure of a hand on his shoulder made him flinch upright and jerk his head around. Shido met his stare with a pensive frown.

“May I ask you something, too, Akechi-kun?”

“What.”

“You mentioned before that you wanted to be a ‘hero.’”

“Yes…”

“And you’ve had the same sort of powers as the Phantom Thieves for several years now.”

“…yes…”

Shido paused in consideration. Then, without the slightest trace of malice, he asked, “Instead of offering to use your powers for me, I assume as part of a trap, why didn’t you do what they did and change my heart?”

Akechi rocked away from him as if struck.

“It just seems too sad, when I look back on it all. Maybe you hadn’t realized you could? But you’re a smart young man. By the time the Thieves started reforming people, you must have figured it out. I know you held a grudge against me, but if only you’d done that at the beginning, none of this would have gotten so out of hand. I never could have enacted any mental shutdowns without you, as you well know. We could have started over instead. It wouldn’t have erased the past, but perhaps we could have had a different relationship… Been as a father and son _should_ —”

Akechi bolted to his feet, almost skinning himself on the coffee table in the process. “Don’t,” he choked. “Don’t you dare say that. I did what I had to do, do you understand me?”

For a few seconds, Shido said nothing. Then he nodded and stood, too. Rife with melancholy resignation, he conceded, “That’s true. I suppose you got that side of you from me.”

And that cut deeper than any contempt or condemnation he could have heaped on him.

Shido sighed and stepped back towards his desk. “Very well. You’re right; I have no right to ask anything more of you. I’ll figure something out on my own.”

Numb. Yes, that was the word for this sensation: a fuzzy, electric tingling all over his body that absorbed or perhaps canceled out all other feelings. “Ooe-san and the others won’t let you,” he murmured. “Even so, you’re going to try?”

“Mmm… I know they won’t make it easy,” he admitted, rubbing his temples with one hand. “Once you tell them you won’t cooperate, they’ll no doubt have me hospitalized to keep me away from the press. But, yes, even so. It’s my moral obligation to confess my wrongdoings. Ideally, I would withdraw from the election too, but they’ll never give me the chance for that. I’ll simply have to take what opportunity I can once it becomes available to me.” Then he chuckled bleakly. “At that point, you’ll be able to expose me as your father, too. You’ll have your revenge yet, hmm?”

Akechi stared at him for a moment. Then he averted his eyes. _You don’t have even a hint of a plan,_ he thought. _You say it’s your moral obligation, but to your ‘compatriots,’ stopping you from confessing is a matter of life and death for their careers. They’ll out-maneuver you with ease. For you to_ _give up on a potential ally and_ _go forward anyway with nothing more than blind hope… you really are a completely different person now._

“Akechi-kun?” Shido prompted.

Slowly, he shook his head. “There’s no point in that,” he murmured, voice hollow. “You’ve done far worse than sire an illegitimate son. No one will care about that compared to all your other crimes. Once you confess to them… I won’t have to do a thing.”

He considered this. Then he nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

A lump rose in Akechi’s throat. He swallowed it down with difficulty, then turned and fetched his briefcase. “I expect you’ll expose everyone in the United Future Party, then?”

“That’s my intention.”

“Does that include my role in things?”

He hesitated. “I’m not sure. It might not be my place.”

Akechi paused, then half-turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“Those you’ve killed are your responsibility. You came to me offering your abilities for my use, and you chose to do as I requested,” Shido replied. “Yet at the same time, I remember how reluctant you were at first to go as far as I had you go. I actively manipulated and abused you, praising you one moment and scorning you the next. I served as an abysmal role model. If I had done better myself, perhaps you wouldn’t have chosen the wrong path.”

Akechi flinched.

“So in that sense, I’m not sure what’s right,” he concluded. “What do _you_ intend to do now, Akechi-kun?”

“…I don’t know anymore.”

“I see. Then we’re in the same boat.”

Akechi stared at Shido. He smiled slightly, a twinkle in his eye. The pun was intentional, then. The dad pun. He resisted the urge to screech and scratch his fucking face off, but only barely. It was all too much.

“I’ll be going now, then,” he said stiffly, and turned away.

“Wait. There’s something else I’d like to say to you.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Akechi said without slowing his pace, taking ugly satisfaction in denying this man this one trivial thing.

But then Shido grabbed his shoulder. “I think you might.”

Then he turned Akechi around and pulled him close. Akechi went rigid. Shido thus hugged him with no trouble at all.

“No matter what your reasons were, you always did your best for me,” he murmured. “Thank you, Goro. I’m proud to have you as my son.”

It was all

too

much.

His father’s words pierced through his heart and left it slashed to pieces. When the shock faded, his breath hitched, and he grimaced as his vision blurred. Dropping his briefcase like so much ballast, clutching his father’s broad back and burying his face in his shoulder like the lonely child he was at heart, Goro cried and cried and cried.

Shido endured this with all the patience he’d never had before last night, patting his back and murmuring soft reassurances. The boy didn’t know how long he let them stand there in the only embrace his father had ever given him; he only knew that only after his tears finally ran dry, leaving him drained and exhausted, did Shido let him go. He slumped on his feet without his support, upright but wavering like a tree half-broken after a vicious storm. Shido offered him a tissue; he accepted and cleaned his face without meeting his father’s eye. When he was done, he clutched the used rag between both hands, heart thumping, guts knotting, gaze still down.

“Do…” he began. “D-did you still want to request my help… sir?”

_Do you need me?_

“I couldn’t ask that of you now, boy. As I said, I’ll work things out on my own.”

_No._

“I… see.” He swallowed hard. Then, facing away from Shido, he disposed of his garbage and fetched his discarded briefcase. Straightening his back, he took a deep breath. Then he breathed it out slowly, and with it, the last of the hopes that he hadn’t even realized he still had.

“This is the end of our relationship, then,” he said, keeping his tone cool and neutral. “Once I leave, you and I will hereby be strangers.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m saying I’m breaking all ties with you, Shido-san. You have no more need of my services, and I have no more need of your dubious good will.”

“I see… That’s for the best, then. We never had a proper father-son relationship to begin with, and it’s too late to start one now,” he replied, sounding disappointed. Folding his hands behind his back, he walked over to the wall past his desk and gazed out the window. “Before you go, I want you to know I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to leave you out of my confessions.”

Startled, Akechi half-turned. “What? Why?”

“In short, I want to believe my son will be a better man than I was, and choose to do the right thing on his own.”

His lips thinned. “And if I’m not?”

Shido bowed his head. “…Then at that point, we won’t have any ties anymore anyway.”

Akechi bowed his head, too.

“But, if that’s what you’re truly thinking… then allow me to offer you a few last words,” he added. “It’s all well and good to have resolve enough to let you do anything for your goals. However, once you actually _will_ do anything, then you’ve already lost all integrity you began with.”

His knuckles whitened under his black gloves. “...I’ll take that under advisement, Shido-san.”

Shido said nothing further, and so neither did Akechi. Each of them facing away from the other, he left the office and shut the door behind him with a final _click_.

In turn, like flies on a carcass, Shido’s allies and aides immediately swarmed around him. The guards had been dismissed somewhere, it looked like. Being in the know didn’t equal being privy to the inner circle’s conversations, he supposed.

“Well?!” Shido’s physician demanded, more anxious than gruff. “Were you able to figure anything out?”

Akechi gave him a cool look. Contempt welled up to fill the hollow left in his soul. “No. There is nothing further than can be done. Shido-san’s change of heart is complete and final.”

The scientist let out a pitiful groan.

“Ugh. Useless,” the former noble sniffed. “Now what?”

“We’ll need to take him to the hospital after all,” said the physician. “The public absolutely cannot know about his current state, and if he says anything careless to the press...”

“I’ll be sure to suppress that,” said the TV station president, “but there’s something more important to consider. Once the election’s over, what next? Shido won’t be able to govern properly like this.”

The IT president chewed on a thumbnail. “We could set up a proxy to handle matters in his place, maybe? Ooe-san, you’re the logical pick there.”

“Yes, leave it to me,” said Ooe, nodding. “We’ve come this far; we absolutely cannot let this rise to power fail. Shido-san may or may not return to his senses one day, but either way, we’ll just have to handle this ourselves for now. Until then, we’ll be counting on you, Akechi-kun.”

Akechi raised his chin slightly to look down on the taller man. “I beg your pardon?”

Startled, the others stared at him.

The former noble recovered first with a chuckle. “Oh, don’t be coy, Akechi-kun,” he drawled. “This is no time for games.”

Akechi narrowed his eyes. “I’m not playing games. I worked for Shido-san—not any of you.”

“What are you trying to insinuate?” the IT president said flatly.

The TV station president made an annoyed noise. “Obviously, he’s saying now that Shido-san’s out, so is he.” _The coward,_ he didn’t include, but his tone implied it at full volume.

Ooe waved a hand at the others as he faced Akechi. “How bothersome… I can understand the concerns you must have, young man, but you must realize this is no time to, ah, renegotiate terms, as it were. However, if you’re willing to wait three days—”

“No.”

He scoffed. “Akechi-kun, I know your youth may make you impatient, but—”

“No, I’m not working for any of you,” he clarified. “Period.”

The silence that followed this time hid a serrated edge. Akechi saw in everyone’s eyes fear, hostility, and a vision of the future that didn’t include him. It was all so obvious how these greedy, insecure men only saw him as a means to an end, how even their illustrious leader was only that so long as he could further their individual goals, that he was overwhelmed with an intense and powerful disgust for them all.

All of them, including himself, who was no different.

“I’ll only say this once, so I’ll make it as crystal clear for you fine gentlemen as I can,” Akechi continued, meeting their stares dead on. “I’m leaving to consider my next move _on my own_.

“You can’t stop me.

“You can’t bribe me.

“You can’t ‘remove’ me.

“And if you value your sanity, I suggest you don’t try.”

He felt their eyes stabbing into his back as he walked away, punctuating their speechlessness, and in turn knew his point had been taken to heart, as it were. His pace was brisk but not particularly hurried as he left all the rotten old men behind.

* * *

The confidence in Akechi’s gait lasted only until he left the Diet Building. Once he crossed the street, he sagged against the first tree he reached, forearm cushioning his head. His stomach convulsed, and he clapped a hand over his mouth to hold back his retching. Though there had been times where he’d come close, he hadn’t vomited since Wakaba Isshiki. He wouldn’t restart now. He could control himself better than this. He could. He _could_.

Once he repeated that to himself enough that it became a semblance of truth, he slowly removed his hand to gasp in the icy December air. His guts gurgled, but behaved themselves. With that settled, though, a single thought consumed him:

_Now what?_

After a moment, he pulled himself together and called a certain man. His smartphone connected on the fourth ring.

“It’s me,” said the man on the other side.

Akechi knew from voice and demeanor alone that it was. For that reason, he leaped straight to the point: “Have you heard the news?”

“Hmm? What news?”

“About our side employer.”

“Ahh, ahh, _that_ news. Yeah, the video was damn well everywhere. So? Did the visiting team hit a home run?”

“Yes.”

He clucked his tongue. “Then the middle-aged old man struck out, huh? Too bad. He paid well.”

Akechi’s upper lip curled, but he kept his tone neutral. “What do you intend to do?”

“Intend? You make it sound like there’s anything to think about,” the man said, amused. “Side jobs come and go, but the family is forever. I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing. What about you?”

“I’ve already cut ties with him and his group.”

“Smart boy. Those limp dicks are gonna be like a roach with its head cut off.” He chuckled. “They might stick it out for a while, but they’ll drop dead soon enough.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Yeah? Care to bet on it? A friendly wager, of course. You’re still a minor, eh?”

Akechi made a face at the other man’s teasing. _I’m still a minor_ is how he’d always responded to his offers of things like alcohol, cigarettes, and women. “No, thank you.”

The man laughed. “Uptight as always. Well, that’s not always a bad thing. Good trait for a professional. So, how ‘bout it, kid? Why don’t you join our group? I’ll introduce you to the old men and we’ll treat you well. I’ll even personally take you under my wing.”

This surprised Akechi. Coming from this man—or rather, a man like this—it was a hell of a generous offer. “Huh? Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We recognize and appreciate talents like yours. You do fine work.”

His eyes narrowed. “As a ‘cleaner,’ you mean?”

“What else?”

Akechi shut his eyes. What else, indeed. What else was he good for to these people? To any of these damn old men? But it was his own fault, too. Abusing his Persona powers was the only way he’d ever made anything of himself. Naturally these disgusting sacks of shit would pick up on that and run out of town with it.

He shook his head and rallied his thoughts into an appropriately polite refusal. Persona or no, you didn’t disrespect the yakuza if you knew what was good for you. “I appreciate the offer, but I couldn’t possibly. I made… a complete bungle of my last job. I don’t think I would be of any use to your group.”

“Ah, yeah, good point,” he said thoughtfully. “Yeah, after seeing that video… yeah. The old men ain’t exactly forgiving of mistakes. But then, the middle-aged old man wasn’t either, was he? I’m sure you’re used to it.”

Akechi clenched his jaw.

“Well, whatever. Youth is for fucking up now an’ then. Now you know better, eh? Anyway, if you change your mind, you know how to reach me. Later, kid.”

The line went dead. Akechi’s arm went limp. His phone nearly slipped from his grasp, but he caught it in time and tucked it away, set his briefcase down neatly, and clutched his arms to his chest. How understanding of him. Of course, that understanding had been that Akechi wouldn’t choose any other path than that of a killer.

_And was he wrong?_ he asked himself. Shido had been right. Akechi knew it, too, no matter how much he’d screamed _so what?_ and _they deserved it_ at Ren and his friends. He’d never had to go as far as murder. But he did, and he couldn’t go back anymore. Even if Shido didn’t expose him, no doubt the Phantom Thieves would. They’d held a hand out to him during their battle, but hindsight made it obvious that it was only because they’d considered Shido the bigger villain.

No matter what, his life was over. His question to himself hadn’t changed at all.

_Now what?_

He slumped there, thoughts adrift a sea of hopelessness. _Once you really will do anything, you’ve lost all integrity you started with…_ Damn it. Damn it!! He grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes so tight it hurt. Why did his good-for-nothing dad have to strike right at the heart of it all? For the sake of his revenge, he’d decided he would do anything. Only once he’d triumphed over his worthless father would he be able to start over, live a life as one of the wanted, be the public’s beloved detective prince and hero. But that was just an illusion, no more real than his pristine Metaverse costume. With the lies swept away and the truth revealed, he was left only with his miserable self and the ocean of blood on his hands.

He’d lost everything. All his efforts had been for naught. Nothing he’d doneever made any real difference. He couldn’t even begin to face the enormity of his sins. And he had no idea what to do or where to go—

Until suddenly he wondered, _If it were Amamiya, what would_ he _do?_

And he had no answer for that. But he knew how he could find it out.

He almost smiled. Was it destiny or a choice? Once again, he was drawn back to him. So stupid. Embarrassing, even. But this was the only light he could see in a storm of darkness. If anyone could carve a way through despair this deep, it was Ren. And if he couldn’t…

Well. That, too, would be an answer.

He took a deep breath, picked up his things, squared his shoulders, and headed for the station that would take him towards Yongen-Jaya.

* * *

Ren leaned back in his booth seat with a cup of fresh coffee, tired but satisfied. It’d taken all day to clean up Café Leblanc, but the place was fixed up, Sojiro was safe and working his culinary magic behind the counter, his friends were all alive and well, he had a belly full of delicious curry, and the evening news was on, where that piece of shit Shido was sure to appear and confess his sins any moment now. Life, much like this Blue Mountain java, was good.

His friends sat all around him, both in this booth and the next one over. Ryuji joked around with Ann across from him, Fubata pestered Yusuke and Makoto behind him, Morgana chattered with everyone from his lap, and Haru—cute, sweet, amazingly dangerous Haru—sat next to him, giggling over her own coffee cup. He smiled at her fondly, and she caught his eye and smiled back, cheeks turning rosy.

Happiness swelled up inside him like a carnival balloon, making him almost giddy. Relative to the rest of their friends, Ren and Haru hadn’t known each other long, but… How to put it. From the dichotomy between her digging through garden dirt in a track jersey and her elegant bearing as an heiress, to the dichotomy between her demure, tongue-tied everyday self to the shivers she got making Shadows beg for their lives as a Phantom Thief, she was full of contradictions, and he adored that. Not just adored—he was attracted to her, mind and body, and he was 99% certain the feeling was mutual. With how heady this post-victory joy made him, he had to actively fight down the temptation to pull her close by the waist and kiss her in front of god and everyone.

Fight it he did, though. 99% certain or not, he had a hunch she’d rather that happen in private to start.

_So why not start it?_ he told himself, and grinned. Why not indeed? Setting down his drink, he slid his hand down the table—subtly, furtively, as if just looking for a good resting spot—until his pinky barely brushed against hers. None of the others noticed, but Haru’s eyes widened.

Leaning in just enough to seem outwardly like he only wanted to be heard over the crowd, Ren made his voice intimately low: “Haru. Just between you and me,are you free tomorrow?”

A smile crept back onto her lips, and she nodded. “Did you have something in mind…?”

He nodded back. “I’ll text you the details.” He winked and smirked. “Keep it a secret~.”

She giggled into one hand as he leaned back. “I’ll look forward to it, then.”

“Hey, what’re you two whisperin’ about over there?” Ryuji said then.

Ren grinned. “Not telling.”

“Aw, c’mon! Not cool, man!”

“Yeah, spill! Spiiiiiill!” Ann chimed in.

“Oooh, what’s going on?” Futaba said, leaning in from the next booth over. “Dish!”

Ren only laughed. Yes, life was damn good. The only thing that could improve this night was—

The door jingled. Ren grinned, picked his cup back up, and took a casual sip.

“’Sup, Akechi,” he then said, thoroughly pleased by the timing.

The others were… less than thrilled as they all turned to look at the newcomer as he came to a stop between the booths and the bar, but that was okay. Somewhat less okay was Goro’s expression, which was somewhere between stony and dead. That was worrying, but not enough to wreck his mood.

“Amamiya,” he replied, tone flat. “I suppose you’re feeling pretty pleased with yourself right now.”

“I sure am.” Ren took another sip. “How’d it go with Shido?”

This prompted a reaction: Goro’s lips peeled back into a scowl as he glared at him with open—well, he’d describe it optimistically as anger. He took a moment to actually respond, during which time Ren noted his fists clenching and then relaxing. Then, in the same flat tone as before, he said, “Shido-san’s heart has been completely and thoroughly changed. After sincerely apologizing for a variety of things, he expressed to me his desire to confess his crimes and withdraw from the election.”

“Hell yeah!!” Ryuji roared, leading a celebratory uproar among his friends. Ren was more than thrilled to join them—except he spied Sojiro’s suspicious frown.

“You didn’t come here all this way just to tell us that, did you?” he asked.

A bitter smirk flashed across Goro’s face, here and gone as fast as a shooting star, as he glanced the boss’s way. Then he went back to glowering at Ren. “...As a result, Shido-san’s _allies_ have decided to quarantine him from the media by hospitalizing him until after the election, which by political forecast looks to turn out a landslide in his favor.”

Ren set his cup down, no longer smiling. The others’s celebration died down fast, too.

“W-wait, what’re you saying?” Ann protested. “They can’t just _do_ that, can they?”

“They’re already in the middle of doing it. By the time I left, they were working on a plan for a proxy to rule the country in his stead,” Goro continued without taking his eyes off Ren. “His sins are their sins, after all. They’ll do anything and everything in their power to keep that ship afloat. Their lives depend on it. And if they can carry him all the way to the election, then get voted into power, which they’re more than capable of, it’s game over for all of you.”

Ryuji shot to his feet. “That damn ship already sank!!”

“Has it? Maybe the Palacial version has, but in real life, a ship that size has to be driven by a crew. Yes… sort of like your group,” Goro mused, eyebrows rising slightly. “You all know better than anyone that it won’t go down just by taking out the captain.”

Ren and his friends stared at him with slow-but-steadily mounting horror.

“So you see, just because I lost, doesn’t mean you won,” he told Ren, eyelids hooding again. “All the plots you worked, all the hearts you changed, all the battles you fought, all of your hardship and struggles and passion and effort… in the end, despite everything, they amounted to nothing.” A beat. “How does it feel, Ren Amamiya? Knowing nothing you’ve done ever made any real difference? To come so far, only to fall just before the finish line?”

Ren slipped his hand under the table and onto his knee so Goro couldn’t see it shaking.

Makoto rose to her feet too. “Did you come here just to rub that in our faces?” she demanded.

“Hmm… If this is all you can manage, I suppose that’s what it amounts to, yes.”

“You are… a truly unpleasant person,” Yusuke said, frowning.

Gorochuckled and said nothing back.

“W-what do we do now?” Futaba mumbled, fidgeting and peeking over the back of her booth between Ren and Haru. “I could—y’know, leak everything on the internet—”

“After your team gallantly declared you’d make Shido confess all his crimes himself?” Goro interrupted coolly. “Isn’t that the same as conceding defeat?”

“Quiet, you,” Morgana demanded, thrusting a paw at him. He hopped up onto the table, tail swishing in agitation. “If it’s true Shido’s heart has been changed—and we know for a fact that it has—then he’ll find a way to confess. All that drive he used to have towards his conspiracy will instead be focused towards that. Once that confession is made public, that’ll be the end of it.”

“So we don’t have to worry after all?” Ryuji asked, shoulders relaxing.

Morgana raised his nose in the air. “At the very least, I doubt the situation’s as dire as Akechi is trying to make it out to be.” He twisted his head to look back at Ren. “Right, leader?”

Head bowed, he said nothing.

Haru leaned in, eyebrows knitted in worry. “Ren?”

“So that’s your answer?” Goro asked softly, gaze still on him. “You’re going to sit back and do nothing?”

_No!_ he wanted to shout, but he couldn’t speak. An invisible vice had clamped down on his chest, crushing the breath out of him and leaving his throat desert-dry. His guts writhed while the rest of him was left paralyzed. It was like the bars of his prison cell had decided it was just too damn roomy and had squeezed in on him. He was powerless to help anyone, and trying had served as no more than a speed bump for the corrupt—again. It was happening again. Shido’s fucking heart had been changed and _it was still happening again_.

Goro breathed a faint sigh. “…How disappointing.”

Ren ground his teeth.

Goro began to turn towards the door. Before anyone could say or do anything, though, the Leblanc door burst open, and in stormed Sae. Ren managed to lift his head enough to get a good look at her harried, urgent expression.

“Bad news,” she announced once the door had swung shut behind her. Before she could lay it on them, though, she caught sight of Goro and startled. “Akechi-kun?! What are _you_ doing here?”

“Oh, nothing important,” he said with a pleasant and empty smile. “I was just leaving, so if you’ll excuse me…”

Ren managed to un-stick his throat. “No.”

Goro paused, eyeing him over his shoulder. “No?”

“You’re not leaving. Park your ass right where it is, Akechi.”

He smirked and chuckled, but—small favors—he set his briefcase down and leaned back against the bar, arms and ankles crossed. Ren bore a stare into him for several seconds, which Goro met with cold and challenging eyes; then he nodded Sae on.

Sae scowled at Goro with open suspicion, but soon turned her regard to Ren and everyone. “A directive has come down about the new SIU director,” she said. “It’s going to be a proxy of Shido’s—the intent being to bury his crimes before he can confess them.”

“What? They couldn’t!” Haru gasped.

Makoto asked, “Isn’t there anything you can do, sis?”

Sae folded her arms. “Not easily, and if there was, I wouldn’t be here. What’s more, Shido’s been transferred to a hospital. The exact one seems to be top secret. His aides are claiming that the stress of all his campaigning and ‘certain groundless accusations’ have taken a toll on his health, and so no one will be allowed to see him until after the elections.”

“That’s bullshit!!” Ryuji burst out.

“It is, but it’s the card they’re playing,” Sae replied.

“So it’s just like Akechi said after all?” Ann said, worried.

Sae eyed Akechi. “You told them this already?”

“I didn’t know about the proxy SIU director, but yes, more or less,” he replied. “Not that that part surprises me. It _is_ the logical next move.”

“What now, then?” Yusuke asked, troubled.

That was the billion-yen question, and it was no easier to answer when everyone turned their expectant, hopeful, ascertaining gazes on him. _What now?_ There had to be a way out… there had to be a way forward… but if these corrupt assholes just kept moving the goalposts and rewriting the rules so they won anyway, what could they possibly _do_? He just… he couldn’t…

A soft hand rested over his, and he jerked his head up to look over at Haru. She looked as frightened as he felt, and she was looking to him for answers just the same as everyone—but even though she had to feel the way his hands were shaking, she still gave him a little nod, a little smile, and wrapped her fingers around his. Every gesture seemed meant to tell him, _It’s okay. I’m scared, too_.

And that was exactly what he needed in that moment. He smiled back at her as the tension gradually melted from his body, and clutched her hand back. Right… He’d made it this far with all his friends. As long as they were here to support him, he couldn’t go to pieces on them.

He’d just started clawing back a future for himself. Like hell he’d let it go without a fight.

“Akechi,” Ren said, looking to his left. “You said if Shido gets elected in, we lose. Right?”

Goro nodded slowly.

“Then it’s just the same as before. Our deadline’s still December 18th.” He swept his gaze around at everyone. “Thanks to this warning, now we can do something about it instead of getting caught flat-footed. We just need to figure out what.”

“It’s a good thing we didn’t waste any time taking care of Shido,” Haru noted, scooting closer to him. “We barely have two weeks as it is.”

“We’ve faced tougher pinches than this before!” Morgana declared. “And we’ve always worked under the pressure of a tight deadline! This is no worse than usual!”

“If the problem isn’t Shido, but his allies,” Makoto mused, “then our logical next step is to knock his support out from under him. And the logical next targets…”

“…are the real-world versions of the letter-holders we fought on the ship,” Ren concluded.

“Woah, woah, wait, that was like. Five guys,” Futaba protested. “C-can we really hit five Palaces in two weeks?”

“Those are only Shido’s main pillars of support,” Goro chimed in. “There’s also Shido’s aides and underlings, each of his allies’s aides and underlings, extended flunkies in the government and the police, et cetera et cetera… It would be impossible to change all of their hearts in such a short time.”

“We shouldn’t have to,” Makoto countered sharply. “Shido’s conspiracy might be able to put out one fire, but they’ll have a hell of a time trying to put out four more blazes.”

Sae nodded. “That’s true. Even if they put in a flunky to replace the late director of the SIU, his work will get exponentially more difficult with five more powerful mens’s worth of dirty laundry to keep hidden.”

“Ummmm… Not to be a downer, but there’s another problem with this plan,” Ann said. “We don’t know, like, any of their names? Let alone their Palace keywords, or where they even are!”

“I’ll dig up the names for you,” Sae said. “The locations and keywords I can’t help with, but that’ll at least be a start.”

Makoto’s lips thinned. “Back to the prosecutor’s office then, sis?”

Sae nodded, apology flickering in her eyes.

“I’ll pack you dinner and coffee to go,” Sojiro spoke up. He didn’t usually do to-go, but this was a special occasion, Ren figured. “Sounds like you’re about to pull an all-nighter.”

She smiled ruefully. “Story of my life.” Her smile faded into her usual sharp, stern expression, and she nodded to the others. “I’ll be in touch once I’ve got more details.”

“Thanks,” Ren said. He glanced at Goro. The smug bitterness had faded from his expression, leaving behind only a distant loneliness. It made him want to reach out and pull him close.

“By the way,” Sojiro said then as he ladled curry into a container, “you kids aren’t gonna leave it at just that, are you?”

“Whaddaya mean?” Futaba asked.

“Knocking Shido’s support out from under him is a fine start, but it’s not wise to put all your eggs in one basket, is what I’m saying.”

“He has a point,” Sae said. “You all ought to come up with a back-up plan in case the usual methods don’t work out.”

“Or at least a distraction,” Sojiro added, “to keep Shido’s goons from paying too much attention to you.”

Ren rubbed his chin. A back-up plan… a distraction… something that would also keep Shido’s allies from interfering with his confession, while keeping them busy with things that weren’t the Phantom Thieves… He looked over at Goro. “Something like an exposé from a famous detective?”

Goro blinked, as surprised as the rest of the room. Then he barked out a humorless laugh. “You’re trying to rely on _me_ now?”

“You _are_ reliable when it comes to this kind of thing,” Ren pointed out. As he’d guessed, that wiped away all his pretense, leaving behind a conflicted frown.

“And why,” he said, “do you think I would help you with this, Amamiya?”

“Dude, make up your mind already,” Ryuji said, eyebrows pinched. “First you try to kill us, then you save us, then you flip out at us, then you bring us important info but in a really douchebaggy way, _then_ you stick around when Ren says, and now when he says, ‘Hey, maybe we could use your help,’ you get all coy. Like, do you wanna be friends for real now or not?”

Ren grinned. God bless Ryuji. He really knew how to cut to the heart of things.

Cheeks reddening, Goro protested, “That’s—that’s not what this is about—”

“Akechi,” he interrupted. “That’s exactly what this is about.” Goro scowled at him. Ren met his glare with renewed calm. “I know why you came back. So I’m going to break this down to the basics: do you feel even the slightest scrap of remorse for anything you’ve done? Ever?”

That struck home, if the hesitation that washed over his face was any indication.

Ren watched him for a moment longer. When Goro didn’t speak, he continued, “If you don’t, then I’ve got nothing more to say to you. But if you do, quit messing around. You already know what your answer is.”

Goro held his stare for only a second or two before he fidgeted and glanced to Ren’s left—where Haru and Futaba were. Then he dropped his gaze entirely, expression dripping with unhappiness, and sighed.

“…All right,” he conceded. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Ren smiled, then turned to catch the glances his friends were all giving each other. “What do you guys think?”

“Hmm… If he’s being sincere, he’ll be a big help,” Makoto said. “He knows the enemy a lot better than any of us.”

“I’m all for it,” Ryuji said. “We already punched it out an’ all.”

“What? That makes no sense,” Ann said.

“It makes perfect sense!” Ryuji protested.

“I still have some misgivings,” Yusuke said. “This could be another trick.”

Ann paused in her argument to look Goro over. “Mmm… I don’t really get that sense? I’m pretty sure he’s legit this time.” She pursed her lips. “…But I think Futaba and Haru’s opinions count the most here.”

Haru cleared her throat. “I’m not so petty to demand Akechi-kun be thrown out when he could still be a help to us at a time when we really need it.” She narrowed her eyes at Goro. “…But I’d like it on the record that I still neither like nor trust him.”

“Seconded!” Futaba chimed in, shooting her hand up like she was in school. “Also if we take him back, I reserve the right to mess with him at any and all times, in any way I want.”

“Um, I… guess that’s fair?” Goro hazarded.

Futaba clapped her hands, rubbed them together, and cackled like a witch.

“…Well, if he’s willing to submit himself to Futaba’s tender mercies, I have no more objections,” Yusuke said.

“That’s that, then,” Ren said, nodding. He squeezed Haru’s hand and nudged her to move over; then he did the same. “Now get over here and help us figure this out, dumbass.”

A laugh rippled through the room as Goro made a face. Still, he squeezed in next to Ren. “Couldn’t you come up with a more flattering way of putting that?”

“Nope,” he chirped.

Sae chuckled and picked up the to-go bag and cardboard cup of coffee Sojiro had just finished preparing. “I’ll be on my way, then.”

“Ah, before you go, Sae-san,” Goro said, pulling out his phone. “Let me show you all this.” He scrolled a couple of screens, then set it down, open to the MetaNavi app. Ren, Sae, and the others leaned in. Specifically, it was a list of names, some of which included Palace keywords and locations. When everyone’s attention was fixed on it, Goro scrolled down. More names, some with Palace info, some without...

“This is everyone in Shido’s immediate circle and then some,” he explained. “The top five are the Shadows you should have encountered in his Palace as cognitives. You can skip the cleaner; he’s not interested in sticking it out.”

“This is incredible!” Sae breathed, picking up the phone. “Is the entire conspiracy in this list?!”

“Not everyone. For example, Kunikazu Okumura would have been on there, but not necessarily every allied employee or board member of his,” Goro said, glancing at Haru. Haru scowled back. “The internal affairs of external organizations were generally beyond my, ah, scope, as it were.”

“Two punches for punning,” Futaba declared, and executed judgment.

“Ow!”

This got a smile out of Haru. She reached out to Sae. “May I?” When Sae gave her the phone, she scrolled down the list of names. Her expression pinched, and her sigh as she gave it back was one of disappointment.

Ren understood. The way Goro had put it, there might have been _some_ Okumura Foods employees on there, and if there were, she’d at least know who definitely couldn’t be trusted. Either there weren’t, or she didn’t recognize the names.

Sae meanwhile held Goro’s phone up to him. “Can I borrow this?”

“No,” he said. “But I’ll forward the information to you so you have it by the time you return to the prosecutor’s office.”

She pursed her lips, but gave it back regardless. “All right. Don’t let me down.” And with that, she grabbed her coffee and to-go back, and strode out of the café.

“Aw, but letting people down’s what Aketchy does best,” Futaba cracked as Sae left.

Goro flinched, but said nothing as he messed with his phone.

“He’s got other things he does better,” Ren said, spotting this. “Speaking of, Akechi, about what we were saying earlier about the distraction...”

“It’s not a bad idea, in and of itself,” he said, not looking up. “But not an exposé, at least not to start. I cut ties with Shido’s crew, so if they see me announce something like that, they’ll assume I mean to throw them under the bus. Which is true, but I assume you want me to do something that will _lower_ their guard, not raise it.”

That was a fine point. Ren considered it. “Who among them knew our identities?”

“Everyone knows you, thanks to your arrest, but only Shido and I knew the others. He thought it would be better to have a confession beaten out of you so that information had a traceable path. Less likelihood of someone slipping up that way. When you didn’t confess in time, he didn’t care, since he was going to have the rest of you quietly assassinated once the election was over anyway.”

“Yikes,” Ann uttered, eyes wide. Ren wholeheartedly agreed. They’d guessed at the last part, but Goro’s matter-of-fact, methodical delivery gave it an extra-chilling edge.

“And that was going to be your job?” Makoto asked, eyes narrowed.

Goro shrugged. “If he hadn’t had me killed first.”

No one spoke for several moments. Ren curled his free hand into a fist. Now instead of chilling him, his bluntness made Ren sad—and angry, for Goro’s sake. His cognitive self had revealed that already, but…He wondered if that was one of the ‘various things’ for which Shido had apologized. Curiosity made him want to ask the details of that conversation, but concern for Goro’s feelings convinced him to keep his mouth shut.

Finally, Goro shot Sae the promised information, set his phone down, and leaned back on his booth seat. “Anyway, as we were saying?”

“Hrmm…” Ryuji folded his arms behind his head. “If an exposé or whatever’s out, what’d really get people’s attention?”

“Introducing something brand-new might be _too_ distracting—or alternately, fail to catch people’s interest,” Makoto mused. “So ideally, it should be something that can wrap back into the conspiracy, but wouldn’t seem like it at first.”

Ren glanced at Haru. One thing bubbled to mind, but… he didn’t want to pressure her. She met his gaze, then flicked her eyes down. He curled his fingers around hers to comfort her. And that would have been the end of it, except—

“Such as a high-profile murder case?” Haru murmured, lifting her chin.

Everyone stared at her, Ren included. “You don’t mean—?” he began.

She nodded. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and…” She squeezed his hand tight. He gently rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand, and she relaxed. “In short, it would make sense for the heiress of Okumura Foods to want to know the truth behind her father’s death, wouldn’t it?”

“Are you sure?” Ren pressed. “You don’t need to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

“No, I’m sure,” she replied, blessing him with a brief but sincere smile. It was gone by the time she fixed a glare on Goro. “Akechi-kun. I want to hire you to reveal my father’s killer.”

He barked out a disbelieving laugh. Then: “Wait, you’re serious?”

“Extremely,” she replied, tone glacial.

Well… that was awkward. That was more or less what Ren had had in mind, minus the implication that Goro should come clean. Sort of. He’d gone back and forth on it himself—as much as he liked the piece of shit, as much as he wanted to give him the chance to make amends, was it really right to let him get away with literal murder? With _mass_ murder? Goro was probably grappling with similar questions, given his silence and look of dismay. At least, he hoped he was.

“It sounds like a good plan,” Ren said to break the quiet. “I doubt anyone in the know would expect you to implicate yourself.”

“It’s… true,” he murmured reluctantly. “If that were announced, they’d probably assume I’d taken the job to cover my own tracks, and therefore have no intent of causing them trouble.”

“And technically speaking, the conspiracy was behind his death, wasn’t it?” Makoto remarked, sharp-eyed.

Goro glanced over his shoulder at her. “Technically speaking, he was _part_ of the conspiracy,” he said. He shot Haru a brief look, then studied his folded hands. “But I see what you mean.”

Haru said nothing, but the air around her dropped about ten degrees.

Ren coughed into a fist. “We’ll go with that plan, then,” he said. “Haru, Akechi. Once this meeting’s done, you two set up what you need to, then keep me in the loop. I’ll help mediate between you two. You’ll probably need it.”

They both nodded, each of them visibly relaxing. Yeah, that was about what he figured.

“Now then,” he continued, pushing himself to his feet. “Let’s get upstairs and plan us a quadruple heist.”


	3. A Drop of Truth Goes a Long Way

Even though it was her own idea, Haru already hated having to work with Akechi. In another reality, perhaps she’d be more sympathetic to him... see him as a victim, too. But this wasn’t that reality, and here, his very presence was a constant agitation. The top agitation right now was how he was to “find” her father’s killer. That had been a point on which he’d insisted after the meeting had broken up and they’d left Leblanc for her place to discuss the details of her hiring him—that the wording of the contract between them didn’t _require_ him to come out and confess his personal involvement. When she pushed on that matter, he said he wasn’t refusing to confess, just not on her terms, and that once Shido’s entourage confessed, they’d come to light anyway. She hadn’t been able to hold her ground, and she couldn’t stand him or herself for that. If it was just a matter of _finding_ him, what in blazes was the point of hiring a detective? They both knew damn well where to _find_ him.

At the same time, though, she knew that there was more at stake than personal retribution. As much it hurt her, it was true that her father had been involved in Shido’s conspiracy. Even if Akechi didn’t confess on his own, unveiling the conspiracy meant wrecking the basis through which her father had been killed in the first place. And to unveil the conspiracy in two weeks, before the election, they absolutely needed Akechi’s cooperation. So, fine. She’d let him play the role of the noble detective prince come to rescue the grieving heiress from injustice.

But, like most things she had to allow, she didn’t have to like it.

Once they finished drawing up and signing the contract, and once Akechi had contacted the police and the media to let them know he’d taken on a private job, they agreed to drop by Leblanc tomorrow—after school but before the press statement Akechi had scheduled for the both of them—to bring Ren up to speed. When she’d double-checked with Ren after the meeting, he’d admitted they’d have to put off that private talk he’d invited her to for now. Haru understood why, but it was still bitterly disappointing.

So… at least before this charade was made official, she wanted to see him one more time, let him reassure her. Ren had said he’d mediate for them. It was very sweet, one of many little gestures that had gotten her smitten with him. She knew he would be busy as the leader of the Phantom Thieves too, with four Palaces to explore, so she absolutely wanted to lean on him while she still could.

Especially since tomorrow was…

No. She couldn’t be selfish at a time like this. She wasn’t a weak little girl anymore, either. She had to keep a stiff upper lip, for the good of the team.

After school the next day, she checked on the plants on the roof, then hurried to Yongen-Jaya. She’d hoped she could beat Akechi there, get a few moments alone with Ren at least, but as she hurried up to the café, she found him already opening the door. He looked over his shoulder at her, then gave her one of his sparkly-fake smiles, bowed with irritating grace, and held the door for her like the gentleman he wasn’t.

But they were in public, and they both understood what their public roles were supposed to be. She gave him a rigid smile and a couple words of thanks, and walked inside with her chin held high. He followed her inside without comment. That was one silver lining to dealing with Akechi: he seemed to understand how much she despised him and had no intent of trying to convince her she was in the wrong for it.

Sojiro was behind the counter and open for business. He actually had a couple of customers in, at that—an elderly couple seated near the back. Haru greeted them all with a warmer smile, glad to see his good fortunes, even if he didn’t seem all that thrilled about it himself. He told them Ren was upstairs like usual, and they let themselves up.

Ren was doing crunches while hanging upside-down from a ceiling bar as Morgana supervised from atop a nearby chair. Haru’s steps slowed as she approached. He… he was doing it while shirtless. And his time as a phantom thief had been _very_ kind to his physique. Haru had seen some models whose abs weren’t as tight. It made it difficult to tell where she ought to put her eyes, especially when she knew where she _wanted_ to rest them. She cleared her throat as primly as possible.

“Oh, Haru!” Morgana said cheerfully, draped on the cushion. “School’s already over for the day, huh? It’s so easy to lose track of time in this season. Do you and Akechi already have things in motion?”

“Partially,” she replied. “There was something I wanted to discuss, but…” She let herself glance at Ren and managed not to lick her lips. “Um, is this a bad time?”

“Nah,” Ren said, still doing crunches. “I’ll be done in a sec. Sit wherever.”

Haru considered the phrasing of this invitation very carefully for a few seconds. “Then, if you insist...” she said slowly. Slipping around him so she didn’t get in his way, she walked over to his bed and seated herself on the end of it, where she would have the best view of his flexing back.

* * *

Even though he hadn’t protested the idea, Akechi already felt uncomfortable working for Haru. It was a little ridiculous that he felt that way, in his own opinion. When he came back to Leblanc after turning down all of Shido’s associates, what exactly was he expecting to happen? In his heart of hearts, hadn’t he wanted them to overcome the despair he brought them? Hadn’t he wanted Ren’s offer to come back to include coming back to the fold? The fact that Ren and the others were even willing to give him a chance now that Shido’s heart had already been changed had been beyond his reasonable expectations. To end up in the specific employ of Haru Okumura, though… It was a good idea. A sensible idea. It was just incredibly _awkward_.

At the same time, though, it was strangely refreshing. He’d spent his entire life being hated and unwanted by everyone in any kind of close proximity to him. This time, at least, he deserved it. Haru was even more professional about her dislike of him than some _actual_ professionals. He’d expected her to push much harder about “finding” versus “revealing” her father’s killer. He resolved to treat her as courteously as possible to make up for it, though she probably wouldn’t forgive him all the same.

Which was fine. He understood, better than most, how embittering it was to lose one’s chance to deal with one’s abusive father on one’s own terms. This season would no doubt be harder on her than usual, too, all considered.

He returned to school the next day. His classmates had taken his unannounced day off in stride, and his teachers only scolded him for not calling out sooner. He repeated his apologies and felt oddly stung by how people barely noticed he was gone. He’d thought he’d gotten used to it by now.

After classes, he went straight to Leblanc, as he’d agreed on with Haru. The instant he opened the door and breathed in the scent of freshly-brewed coffee, he felt at ease for the first time that day. It lasted as long as a footfall at his back and him turning around to see Haru, who looked as happy to see him as he was to see her. Not that it was her fault, exactly, just… he’d hoped to beat her there by a larger margin. That was probably selfish of him. He supposed there was no helping that his school was further away.

He held the door open for Haru with no expectation of thanks, and was thus not disappointed. After a brief exchange with Sojiro, they went upstairs to find Ren working out under Morgana’s watchful eye, using one of the ceiling beams in his terrible attic room as a crunch bar.

That wasn’t the part that caught Akechi’s eye. It was the fact that Ren was topless. Every time he curled his body from the waist up, he could see his every muscle group crushing in on themselves and smoothing out again. It was… mesmerizing.

So much so that he felt a flash of guilt for ogling, but then he told himself, _It’s not a crime to look, is it? He doesn’t seem to care if anyone looks. And if he does care about anyone_ _lee_ _ring at his_ _tight,_ _half-naked body, then he shouldn’t be so goddamned_ _handsome_ _._

Which was an excuse through and through, but making excuses and superficially convincing himself of them was one of Akechi’s many survival strategiesfor his daily overdose of cognitive dissonance.

“Oh, Haru!” Morgana was saying. Akechi noted that he wasn’t greeted, and couldn’t decide if that also stung or if he didn’t care. “School’s already over for the day, huh? It’s so easy to lose track of time in this season. Do you and Akechi already have things in motion?”

“Partially. There was something I wanted to discuss, but…” Like iron filings to a magnet, her gaze turned towards Ren. “Um, is this a bad time?”

“Nah,” Ren said, still doing his set. “I’ll be done in a sec. Sit wherever.”

Haru chose the bed for some reason. Rather bold for a girl, and one raised in wealth and class at that. Akechi used that as an excuse to do the same, seating himself neatly about a foot down away from her and waiting with no sense of impatience for Ren’s exercises to end.

The view of his flexing back from here was _superb_ , after all.

* * *

Ren was counting down in his head, so he didn’t need it, but once he hit zero, Morgana still told him, “All right, that’s enough.” Which he did appreciate. He’d lost count in the past, even without the arrival of a pair of guests.

With practiced ease, he swung his torso up to grip the ceiling beam, unhooked his legs from the same, and flipped in midair to land light on his bare toes. He’d worked up a good sweat, and was barely breathing hard. Best of all, he was feeling much more clear-headed than yesterday. Once everyone had gone for the night, Morgana had insisted he go to bed, as the fuzzy little fusspot so often did. He barely got any sleep, though. He’d managed to hold it together, be a good leader for the others, but once he’d been left alone with his own thoughts, he had to confront the reality that it was only because Goro was a spiteful dickhead that they had a chance to take out Shido’s conspiracy for real. Scenarios of how things might have otherwise gone otherwise if he’d died instead ran through his head all night like ghosts in a haunted house.

He grabbed his towel from the back of the chair on which Morgana lounged and draped it around his shoulders, rubbing the sweat from his face. “So what’s up?”

Haru cleared her throat. “Akechi-kun and I finished up the, ah, hiring paperwork already, last night. He’s set up a… press conference?”

“Essentially,” Goro said.

“Mm. That. For tonight. To make it public.” She sighed, sounding troubled. “I admit, I’m a bit nervous.”

“You don’t tend to like talking in front of crowds, yeah. Will you be okay?” He lowered his towel in time to see her smile. He smiled back and added, “Maybe we can help you prepare a few remarks, if you want.”

Intense relief added another dimension to her smile. “Really? That would be a big help!”

“Sure.” He glanced right. “Akechi, you have experience with that, right?”

He sat up straighter. “Hm? Ah, yes.”

...Huh. That almost sounded like he’d been caught off-guard. Unusual for Goro, even taking into account how he’d exploded emotionally twice in as many days. He’d been looking right at Ren, though. Ren peered at him, then at Haru, and—

“I’ll be happy to lend a hand too, of course,” Morgana said, sitting up.

“Eh?” Haru ripped her—yes, her _stare_ from Ren to him. “Oh, ah, thank you, Mona-chan!”

A slow grin dawned across Ren’s lips.

Oh.

Damn.

This was _delicious_.

Ren Amamiya was a quiet person these days, but his truest self was someone who loved to showboat, to impress, to attract attention. And there was a certain ego boost involved in the two of the most attractive people he knew lathering him in their most rapt attention.

Well. If they liked what they saw, why not give them more of it?

* * *

“I know the objective is to...” Haru gestured vaguely, glancing over at Akechi. He was staring away from her, at the shelves next to the bed. “Um, well, to make a sensation of trying to find my father’s killer. But I’m afraid someone will ask about the Phantom Thieves, and I don’t know what I ought to say...”

She looked over at Ren. He’d picked up a large water bottle from the shelves and had started to drink. Ahh… Something about the way he held himself, easy and confident, throat bobbing as he drank, sweat glistening on his skin, was just so…

“I’d try to steer the topic away from the Phantom Thieves,” Morgana said. She shook her head and tried to pay attention. “Ultimately, we’ll be blaming it on the conspiracy, but we don’t want them forewarned about it. It’s best to imply, at least to start, that the culprit was some standalone agent.”

“I was planning along those lines,” Akechi said, looking over at him. “Namely, to suggest that the true culprit took advantage of the advance notice for the timing of their murder and allow them to shift the blame.”

Ren pulled the bottle from his lips. “A drop of truth goes a long way,” he cracked.

“Yes, well...”

Akechi trailed off. Haru held her breath. Ren had tipped the water bottle over his head, shoulders, and chest, sending rivulets of water coursing over and around his muscles. Haru crossed her legs as tightly as she could. She never thought she would ever be envious of a liquid, but here she was. If only she could trickle her fingertips down his chest in its place! If only she could be daring enough to do it anyway. What a thrill it would be to pull him close, push him onto the bed, and—oh dear, oh dear. She was getting far too far ahead of herself.

But the idea still sent a delectable shiver across her skin. How much better she was sure it would be if that shiver came from his touch. Maybe if they were alone, she could work up the nerve to touch him first, but there was Mona, and…

She glanced over at Akechi.

* * *

“A drop of truth goes a long way,” Ren remarked, holding his water bottle.

Akechi resisted the urge to kick him for the pun. He found himself having to actively resist his urges a lot the past couple days. “Yes, well,” he started, and then promptly lost his train of thought when Ren upended that bottle over himself. A stream of water trickled down, slicking his hair, lapping around his shoulders, streaming down his chest and dripping onto his sweatpants. The raw sensuality of it was so captivating, he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

And he hated it.

He’d been attracted to Ren for ages. Arguably, he’d been drawn to him since the moment they first met that fateful day in the TV studio when random nobody Ren had stood up and said the Phantom Thieves that popular celebrity Akechi had just disparaged were justice. Normally he hated it when people defended his foes, but the look in Ren’s dark eyes had been so intense, he’d been intrigued instead. That feeling had never gone away. He wasn’t in such deep denial that he didn’t know that about himself. However, ever since their battle in Shido’s Palace, it was getting harde— _more difficult_ to compartmentalize how he felt about him. When they were enemies, it was… occasionally painful, but he could keep himself in line by reminding himself of his priorities. Now that his primary desires had been shattered, his secondary desires were finding ample space to, er, expand.

He folded his legs to discourage any of that from getting literal. It didn’t help that this smug asshole, this absolute piece of shit, was practically giving him a burlesque show. The day before yesterday, he comforted him; last night, he threatened him; and now, he was flaunting his half-naked body in front of him. The constant back-and-forth was as infuriating as it was alluring. God, if Ren pushed him down again now— Akechi covered his grimace with one hand as he imagined it. If he did, he wouldn’t be able to resist, would he. The fantasy of it might even, ahem, keep him warm this winter’s night.

And never mind that Morgana and Haru were _right there_. Were they staring too? At least she must be, since this show was no doubt actually for her.

He glanced over at Haru.

* * *

Their eyes met at the same second. In the same second, they each took in the other’s flushed cheeks with widening eyes; in the same second, they understood what those things meant about the other; and in the same second, each of them shot their stares away.

* * *

_He likes Ren too,_ Haru realized, suddenly unable to breathe.

* * *

_She’_ _s figured out_ _I like Ren,_ Akechi concluded, gripping the edge of the bed.

* * *

When the last of the water trickled down his face, Ren set the bottle down and shook his hair like a model, then ran his fingers through it luxuriously. For an impromptu performance, he was pretty pleased with how it went. He winked an eye open to check the results.

Both Goro and Haru were blushing and had their eyes fixed on opposite sides of the room, i.e. not on him. Neither of them looked happy. Not good. Maybe he’d overdone it.

To check, he asked as he toweled his neck, “Something wrong?”

Both of them flinched. Haru shoved her hands in her lap, which she promptly stared down at, while Goro folded his across his chest, pretending to be fascinated by the wall.

“O-oh, it’s nothing,” Haru stammered, red-faced. “It, um—it must be tough, not having a full bathroom of your own.”

“I _know_ ,” Ren lamented. “I’d sell my soul for a hot shower.”

“You shouldn’t say that when we regularly associate with demons,” Goro muttered.

“Figure of speech. Piss off, Satan.”

That got Haru to giggle. Even Goro smiled as he shook his head. Pleased, Ren stretched his arms up and then all the way to his toes, then crouched into a leg stretch, left bent while his right stuck out straight. He reached out and pulled his foot back with both hands, then held that pose, making sure to keep himself bent at the best angle for ogling.

Not that either Haru or Goro were the type to _ogle_. They both had classiness to go with their violent, repressed rage. But they were both giving him furtive glances anew. And as Ren eased out of that stretch and paralleled it on the other side…

“How long… do you intend to keep doing that?” Goro asked, a certain tightness in his voice.

Keeping his tone bland, Ren replied, “It’s important to stretch before and after a workout.”

“…Ah.” A beat. “Of course.”

Ren bit back a laugh, but just barely.

“You’re _astonishingly_ flexible,” Haru offered, perhaps to imply a reason why she started watching him outright.

“This? Nah,” he replied, pulling his left foot back nearly parallel to his calf. “I can do better.”

“Oh…” she uttered. That single syllable was smothered with sinplications.

Oh, yes. This was much, _much_ better.

“Ren, how long are you going to leave that puddle on the floor?” Morgana chided him then. “Don’t come crying to me if you slip on it!”

That was kind of a mood-killer, but he did have a point. Ren glanced down at the wet floorboards, then rose to his feet and turned around, dropping the towel from his shoulders. “It’s all good,” he said, using one foot to drag it over the remains of his shoulder. At the same time, he pulled his arms behind him and arched backwards into another stretch, flexing them, his back, _and_ his backside at the same time. Ren snuck a glance over his shoulder to judge the reaction. He smirked to catch both Haru and Goro red-faced and fascinated.

“Honestly...” Morgana stood on his hind legs, using the back of the chair for support, and pointed a paw at the three. “In any case! Haru, you shouldn’t need to push yourself too hard to make comments for the press.”

“O-oh! Um, yes. Um… why?”

Right, the meeting. Ren lingered in that pose a second longer, then eased out of it. He didn’t want to be so distracting they couldn’t get any work done.

“Akechi’s skilled at that sort of thing, so you can let him take the lead,” Morgana was saying. “He may as well make himself useful for once.”

“I’m honored by your praise,” Goro deadpanned.

“I suppose you’re right, but…” Haru frowned at Goro. “I don’t really want to let him do _all_ the talking.”

“If you don’t, you’re going to have to say positive things about him,” Ren pointed out, taking a seat on the bed between the two. It redirected the budding tension between them nicely. “If I were a reporter, the first thing I’d ask is why you waited this long to hire a detective.”

She bowed her head. “That’s a good point… What should I say?”

“Hmmm…”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Morgana said. “The police have been so obsessed with the Phantom Thieves that you’ve started to suspect they haven’t been taking the investigation of your father’s murder seriously, especially since there’s been rumors that the Phantom Thieves weren’t responsible for it. You happened to meet Akechi at a café, and after listening seriously to your doubts, he offered his services. You weren’t sure at first, since you wanted to place your faith in the police, so you told him you’d think about it, but after the debacle with Shido, you’ve now decided to accept.” His sat back down, tail curling around himself. “Since the police are _so_ unreliable,” he concluded smugly.

Ren laughed. “I like it.”

Even Goro chuckled. “That’s sure to annoy the police. This works for me.”

“Weren’t we trying to avoid that?” Haru asked.

“Ha, no. Take it from me: the police are full of ineffectual buffoons. You should always take any opportunity you can get away with to tweak their noses.”

Ren smirked. “Sounds like you’ve got a lot of stories about that. I want to hear more.”

To his pleasure, Goro grinned back. “I’m happy to oblige.”

“Save it!” Morgana commanded. “We still have business to discuss!”

_Who’s the leader here, me or you?_ Ren thought. But he knew Morgana was right, so he nodded. He also wasn’t done flirting by a long shot, so he leaned in close to Goro and whispered in his ear, “Later, then.”

He was immensely satisfied to see him blush and cough into one hand. “Yes, well, in any case,” Goro said quickly, “it’s just an announcement to the press, so it won’t need to take long.” He fussed with his hair for a second, then fixed his gaze on Haru. “It’ll be trickier when we go on TV programs to discuss the matter—”

“TV programs?!” Haru blurted out, gawking at him. “I-is that really necessary?!”

“Yes?” He raised his eyebrows. “We’re supposed to be making a spectacle, remember?”

“O-oh… Yes…” She lowered her gaze, looking nauseous.

“Hey.” Ren slipped an arm around her shoulders. She sat bolt upright. “It’ll be okay. You’ve got this,” he reassured her. “Did Morgana’s suggestion work for you?”

Her nod was meek, but her smile glowed. “Yes… It makes reasonable sense, and it’ll be easy to remember. Thank you, Mona-chan.”

“Of course! Nothing but the best plans for my Haru,” Morgana purred.

“There, you see? We’ve got your back. Even Akechi.” Ren reached out, hooked Goro by the arm, and before he could do more than utter a noise of surprise, pulled him close and rested his wrist on Goro’s shoulder. “Because if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll do everything he can to support you, too.”

Goro heaved a dramatic sigh but didn’t argue. When he touched Ren’s wrist, Ren thought he’d pick his hand off and remove it, but to his pleasant surprise, Goro just… left them both there.

Haru looked more cheerful, too. “You’re so sweet,” she said, leaning on him. “Thank you. I do feel much better now.”

And for that one still and peaceful moment, everything just felt… _right_. Like a mug full of hot cocoa and a soft, warm blanket over his shoulders as he sat in front of a roaring fire on a snowy winter’s night, he felt perfectly at ease. It surprised even him. He liked Haru and, against his better judgment and the judgment of all his friends, he liked Goro too, but up until now, he’d always thought of them as… distinct? Incompatible? Yes, that was it. Two people who would never get along, no matter what. There was good reason for that, too. But holding them _both_ close, having them both draw close to him, made him the most content he’d been in a long while.

So naturally, it didn’t last. Goro’s phone and Haru’s phone both chimed at the same time, and each of them jumped and pulled away from Ren. The nature of the disturbance became apparent: the chime had been an alarm for their fast-approaching date with the press.

“We’d better go,” Haru said, radiating disappointment. “I don’t want to be late.”

“A wise idea.” Goro tucked his phone away as he stood up. “Shall we be on our way, Miss Okumura?”

She stood too. “Yes...”

“Ah, Haru, before you go!” Morgana said. “Makoto asked me to pass on a message for you. She and Sae have something for you, so once you’re done with the press, head on over to her place. They’ll be ready for you by eight PM, but it’s okay if you’re a little late, she said. Just make sure to text her first either way.”

Haru blinked at him. “Makoto and… Sae do? I wonder what it could be?”

Goro caught Ren’s eye for some reason. “I expect it’s business-related. Sae-san probably found something useful for our end of the ‘investigation.’”

Her expression soured. Then she sighed. “Yes, you’re probably right. All right, thank you, Mona-chan. I’ll be sure to let her know when we’re on the way.”

Ren leaned back on one arm, the other hooked around his leg, which he had folded and perched on the edge of his bed. “Take care, and good luck. I’ll be sure to watch the evening news.”

Haru’s brow smoothed as she smiled at him. He grinned back at her. When she sighed again, it was more wistful than resigned like before. “Thank you, Ren,” she murmured, her gaze lingering on him. Then she turned and left, standing a little taller than before.

Goro let his regard linger on him, too. Ren raised his eyebrows at him, now half-smirking, an implicit challenge— _Got something to say?_ —but he said nothing and only followed Haru downstairs.

Once they were both gone, Ren got up and picked up his laundry basket along with a fresh change of clothes and a clean towel, which he stuck inside his usual duffel bag. Morgana hopped inside as he pulled on his hoodie without bothering with a shirt, then put on his shoes.

“Excellent. Everything’s going according to schedule,” Morgana remarked.

“Mhm.” It really would be nice to have his own shower room, but having a bathhouse almost next door wasn’t so bad. It helped that the laundromat was right in front of it, too. It helped even more to have a sapient talking cat watch his laundry for him while he bathed. He’d have plenty of time for the meeting over at Makoto’s tonight, and look _and_ smell good while he was at it.

* * *

Haru’s chauffeur was still where she left him when he dropped her off after school. Normally she preferred to take the train, but with the press conference, driving was faster. Akechi opened the car door for her, and as little as she liked it, she went along with it. It was still tempting to tell the driver to leave before he could get inside, too. But no. They both buckled up, and then they were off.

It was a quiet ride. The driver stuck to driving, already knowing the next destination, and Haru and Akechi both kept their eyes out their respective windows without bothering with the tedium of forced conversation. For that, she was grateful. If it’d been her godawful fiancé, Sugimura, he probably wouldn’t shut up about the good of their future and the company while also getting handsy and ignoring her open discomfort. That was one thing she could give Akechi: he was only so awful a human being as to be the person she hated _second_ -most.

Naturally, though, he had to ruin that by clearing his throat. “We’re almost there,” he remarked, unnecessarily.

_Don’t remind me._ “Yes,” she murmured.

“Are you nervous?”

_You already know I am._ “Yes.”

“It’ll be fine. Would you like to review the statements we agreed on, though?”

She shot him a sharp look. His gaze was still directed outside, chin on his hand, but she thought she could see his reflection in the window watching her. “No, thank you.”

“…All right.”

And he fell silent again. She frowned down at her hands, folded in her lap. He’d… probably been making an attempt to be supportive, as Ren had indirectly told him to do. She took a deep breath and ran over Morgana’s suggestion in her head: _she was doubtful of the police’s intentions, she ran into Akechi in a caf_ _é_ _, he was sympathetic and offered his services, she was reluctant at first but after the police botched the Phantom Thief_ _arrest_ _, she decided to hire him after all._ _She’s not_ _so sure_ _the Phantom Thieves are truly behind her father’s murder_ _and Akechi had been willing to hear her out about that_ _, and… and…_

She shook her head, feeling queasy. At that point, she could probably let him take over. It would be believable to the press if she were too distressed to comment further, probably. It _was_ distressing, too, but not for the reasons she’d lead them to think.

Haru glanced up at the chauffeur. The privacy window between the front and back seats was shut. She picked at her seatbelt for a moment, trying to make up her mind. Then she steeled herself and sat up straight.

“Akechi-kun?”

He looked over at her. “What is it?”

She frowned at him. “Why did you come back?”

His eyes lidded, and he settled his chin back on his hand. “Who knows? Maybe I wanted to see how you all handled the idea that all your efforts were meaningless.”

“And what was your conclusion?”

He breathed a faint sigh. “…As usual, Amamiya rose to the occasion.”

She pursed her lips. “Despite everything you said the other day, you really do like him, don’t you.”

He didn’t respond.

She looked down at her lap. Then she took a deep breath. “I like him, too,” she admitted. “I like all my friends, of course, but… he’s especially precious to me. I… love him. That’s why…”

“That’s why?”

Haru lanced him with a glare. “I won’t lose to you, Goro Akechi.”

He stared over at her, thoroughly startled.

* * *

There was nothing like a long, hot soak after hours of activity. Ren shut his eyes and breathed in the steam as the water soothed his muscles. The bathhouse was empty, most folks opting to come in after dark, so he was able to enjoy being alone with his thoughts, too.

Haru… and Goro. Goro, and Haru. Heh… He’d just wanted to flirt and bask in their attention, but somehow it’d ended up more serious than that. Well—he was already serious about Haru, and he was serious in a different way about Goro, but back in his bedroom, he hadn’t been thinking about all that. It’d been enough for him to get them drooling. But when the three of them had sat close together, his arms around them both…

He liked Haru because she was at once sweet and sadistic, dainty and dangerous. Neither aspect of her undercut or undermined the rest of her, nor was either side of her false. They were equal and opposite halves of the whole of her personality. He found that duality attractive.

He liked Goro because he was at once collected and a disaster. Back when Ren could only see the superficial parts Goro carefully controlled, he couldn’t stand him, but the more of his own duality he experienced, the fonder he grew of him. Even his obnoxiousness could be charming, now.

But it was more than that, Ren mused as he rested an elbow on the side of the bath. _All_ his friends were disasters, in and outside the Phantom Thieves, and he cared for all of them deeply, but that was separate from being physically and emotionally attracted to them. Only Haru and Goro could claim that particular distinction.

With Haru, there was a sort of… comfortableness there. She’d confided in him about her difficulty with trusting others, but she’d trusted him with herself, even beyond the rest of their friend group. After all, who else would she be so mischievous with to prank with elephant poop coffee? But she could prank him every day for the rest of their lives, and he’d love every second, because being with her was fun. She made him happy. She made him feel special. She made him feel alive.

With Goro… well. Ren had to admit, it was probably fucked up that he cared for a guy who’d blackmailed, betrayed, and tried to kill him. But… god. He was just so damn _bad_ at peopling that it became weirdly endearing instead. Knowing the murder attempt was coming had made it a thrill instead of a threat. Trying to pick apart the truth beneath the lies, battling wits in a game of high-speed Xanatos chess, his desperation, his rage… In his own, unique way, being with Goro was also fun.

Plus they were both drop-dead gorgeous. That was just science fact.

But in terms of a serious, stable relationship, up until yesterday, the obvious choice was Haru. For one, she wasn’t trying to kill him. For another, she hadn’t gotten him arrested, drugged, and beaten. For a third, she wouldn’t go on to murder all his other friends, nor did she have an untold number of murders to her name already, probably. Ren might have been horny and shameless, but he wasn’t stupid. And, in all seriousness, he’d been completely prepared to confess to her, to ask her to be his girlfriend, to give his heart to her and be with her. Those feelings weren’t a lie.

Except that Goro had _come back_. He’d been an asshole about it to start, but that was just who Goro was, and Ren didn’t necessarily dislike that about him. Still, that alone hadn’t been enough. The more important part was that, once he cut the bullshit, he started helping the team sincerely. And… Maybe it was wishful thinking. But Ren had the sense that Goro had been testing him. To see if he could overcome the pain that had crushed himself. Ren… didn’t want him to have to be alone. Selfish as it was, he wanted his heart, too.

Obviously, there was a conflict there. Goro had murdered Haru’s father. She’d said it point-blank during their battle: she would never, ever forgive him for that. Ren wouldn’t ask or expect her to, either. And Goro didn’t seem to have anything against Haru in particular, but underneath all his bluster and posing, he _w_ _as_ insecure enough to genuinely believe he was unwanted and unlovable. Knowing Haru hated him for good reason no doubt automatically put him on the back foot. Understanding both of these things was why Ren had offered to mediate for the two while they were partnered. No matter how he felt about each of them, he would have to pick one.

_Would_ _I_ _?_

The realization popped into his head. Ren sat up straight.

_Why can’t I have both?_

Goro had come back. He’d made it plain that he did feel guilty, that he’d do all he could to atone. Haru might not ever forgive him, but she was already willing to cooperate with him, and it wasn’t as though she’d have to date Goro herself.

Why _couldn’t_ he have them both?

The idea was so intriguing that he had to take a mental step back to fully appreciate it and make sure the heat from the bath wasn’t getting to him. It still held the same allure and appeal after he’d finished his bath, dried off, gotten dressed, and met up with Morgana at the laundromat. He remained absorbed as he transferred his wash to the dryer, so the first time Morgana spoke, he didn’t hear him.

The second time accompanied a swat on the butt, so Ren shut the dryer door and turned around.

“Hm?”

“I _said_ , what are your intentions towards Haru?”

He paused. “Sorry?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Ren!” He pointed a paw at him. “Just because I said nothing at the time doesn’t mean I didn’t notice you posing in front of her and Akechi!”

He grinned, managing to pin the sentiment behind it somewhere between sheepish and brazen. “Ah.”

“Haru is a good girl. She deserves good things,” he continued, tail swishing in agitation. “So if you’re trying to toy with her…”

“It’s not like that,” Ren interrupted, twisting the heat dial to maximum and slipping change into the slot. “I’m serious about her.”

“Ah! Good. I’m glad.” He relaxed, then paused. “Then what was all that with Akechi?”

“Oh, I’m serious about him, too.”

“What!!”

He laughed and turned the dryer on, then sat next to his companion. “I’m pansexual and polyamorous, and I’m into both of them equally. Something wrong with that?”

God, he ought to pull his phone out and take a photo. The look of shock on Morgana’s feline face was absolutely hilarious. “Y-y-y-you can’t do that!! That’s _two-timing_!!”

“Morgana, do you know what ‘polyamorous’ means?”

“Uh...”

So a definition and explanation later, Morgana’s tail wasn’t quite so frizzy. It was definitely still bent out of shape, though.

“Well, if everyone involved is aware and all right with it… fine,” he conceded grudgingly. “But you know that Haru dislikes Akechi.”

“I know. She doesn’t have to date him, too.”

He heaved a sigh. “It’s not just that. Let’s say for a moment you get the both of them to fall in love with you back. Don’t you think it’s unfair to Haru to have to share her lover with her father’s murderer?”

That was an angle Ren hadn’t _quite_ considered. He folded his arms on the back of his chair and leaned his head on them. “…True.”

“And I won’t tell you you can’t pick Akechi, even though I _will_ tell you you shouldn’t,” Morgana continued. “But in light of that, don’t you think it’s better if you commit to just one of them?”

Ren mulled over that. The thread picked up easily from what he’d contemplated in the bath. As such, it didn’t take long for him to conclude: “No.”

“No?!”

“I can love two people at once. I already do.”

Morgana stomped his paw rapidly, repeatedly. “That’s not the issue here!!”

“Isn’t it?” After a pause to let Morgana settle, Ren continued, “Commitment isn’t about picking just one person. I can commit to them both equally. I don’t want either of them to feel like they’re losing to the other, either.”

“But they hate each other!!”

“Wrong. Goro doesn’t hate Haru, as far as I can tell. And Haru doesn’t hate Goro so much that she’s not willing to give him a chance. Working with him was her own idea.”

Morgana’s tail sank. “That’s… true…”

“Right now, my role as far as they’re concerned is helping them get along while they’re working together. Goro wants to make amends, too, and that’s more than half the battle right there. All I have to do is get Haru to be open to that, and everything will work out.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“No, but if I were the kind of person to not do something just because it might be a terrible idea, I wouldn’t have done half the things I’ve done in my life.” Ren grinned as Morgana snorted. They both knew it was more like 90% in the past year. “I just need to find a way to get them to get along with each other. It shouldn’t be hard.”

“Oh boy,” he groaned. “Famous last words.”

“What, you think I can’t do it?” He sat up straight. “They already both like me. As long as I ease them both into it, they should be able to handle the idea of a poly romance fine.”

“I think you’re overestimating their willingness to share you…”

“Then they’ll just need to be friends first. Hell, they can be lovers, too; I sure as hell don’t mind. I’ll get those two idiots to fall for each other, and then for me, if it’s the last thing I do,” Ren boasted.

Morgana facepalmed. “This is going to end in disaster, I just know it.” Before Ren could protest, he thrust a paw at him. “Listen! I’ll go along with this, but on one condition. I want you to think seriously, right now, about if you can’t make what you want happen. Neither of them ever manage to get along with one another, neither of them is okay with polyamory, the prospect of sharing you is fraying their good will, all the drama is threatening to overturn the team at a critical time, and you have to choose one or lose everything. _Who do you choose_?”

He opened his mouth; shut it; bowed his head.

“Or are you okay with neither of them?” Morgana challenged. “With the team splitting up just before we can take out the conspiracy once and for all?”

Of course he wasn’t okay with that. Ren’s grip on the back of his chair tightened. He was the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He couldn’t let his personal feelings and desires interfere with the good of the team, let alone sour his friendships. And if they couldn’t fix this rotten society… then it wouldn’t matter worth a damn who he wanted to romance. Much as he didn’t like it, Morgana had a point.

“I… if I absolutely had to pick just one… I suppose I’d pick Haru,” he admitted reluctantly.

Morgana relaxed. “Good. Keep that decision in the back of your head.”

“It won’t come to that, though,” he insisted. “I know I can get them to care about each other.”

He sighed. “I hope you’re right, for Haru’s sake.”

Which annoyed Ren a little. It wasn’t as though he wasn’t thinking of her, too.

“So when are you picking up a present for tonight? You didn’t already get one, right?”

He blinked. “Present? Tonight?”

“For her birthday,” Morgana clarified. “Remember? For the surprise birthday party?”

He stared. “For who?”

“For Haru!! Today is her birthday!!”

He stared harder. “...eh?”

* * *

Akechi stared at Haru. Her eyes burned with competitive determination.

Had he really just heard her say what she just did? That she wouldn’t ‘lose to him’? Right after she admitted to being in love with Ren?

Then… that meant she thought of him as a viable rival? For Ren’s affections? Even though they’d shared such an intimate look the other day when she punched him so hard he fell on the damn floor? Even though Ren had basically threatened him into supporting Haru?

Well, no. That wasn’t precisely true, was it? The threatening part. The gears in Akechi’s head clicked and turned. It was technically a threat, but given the context of the situation, it’d probably been a joke to make her feel better. The way Ren had pulled him close had been… pleasant. Akechi had even let his hand linger on Ren’s wrist and enjoy being held by him. But he’d thought of that as… savoring a moment that wasn’t really his, in the same way that he’d benefited from Ren posing and stretching to show off for Haru.

Was she saying that he’d really been showing off for _him_?

Motions stiff, Haru turned her face forward. Akechi did likewise, thinking. Ren had gone out of his way to save him. Had sat at his bedside at the Takemi Medical Clinic. Had made a dominance display out of him, true, but then offered him a hand up and invited him to return. Had accepted him back right away when he finally folded and agreed to make amends…

It was a tantalizing idea. He found he yearned for it to be true and not Haru’s misconception.

_And if it is true? If I really do have a viable chance to be with Ren?_

…He’d have to think about it. So many things had changed so abruptly. He didn’t even know if he’d be a free man still two weeks from now, though at least the Phantoms seemed amenable to letting him keep his silence about all his murders as long as he atoned for them going forward. Fortunately, the imminent press statement aside, today was Haru’s birthday. That was more than enough reason to back off for now. But later… if he tested the waters with Ren and Ren seemed receptive…

Akechi smiled as hope flickered to life inside him.

Perhaps this was the real reason he’d returned to Leblanc.


	4. Obviously, That Was Also a Lie

“…so while I can’t say anything concrete at this time, we have reason to believe that the Phantom Thieves’s declaration to steal Okumura-san’s heart, and his later death, may actually have been unrelated,” Akechi concluded. Shutters clicked and lights flashed like the birth and death of a thousand stars, but he was left unfazed. “If so, then there may be an even more insidious criminal at large.”

Haru was significantly less comfortable. It’d been harder than she’d thought to recite the scenario that Morgana had given them. The cameras left her flinching, and it was an active effort to not hide behind Akechi like a frightened little girl. As much as she hated this attention, as much as she did have to lean on him to deal with the press, she would _not_ act like he was her protector.

“Akechi-kun, you declared the other day that you would capture all of the remaining Phantom Thieves!” a reporter insisted, her microphone shoved forward. “You aren’t reneging on that, are you?”

“Of course not,” he said with such immediate reassurance that Haru wanted to out him right then and there. “But it’s a matter of scale. If the Phantom Thieves are innocent of murder, then it’s vital to catch the true culprit before they can strike again. And if they _are_ responsible… then my duty remains the same. All that’s different is that I’m specifically in Miss Okumura’s employ now.”

“What about their recent notice against Congressman Masayoshi Shido?” another reporter demanded. “What do you think of their claim that their leader, who allegedly committed suicide, is still alive?”

“It all depends on whether you choose to take their video at face value,” Akechi replied, smooth as silk. Haru wondered if he’d anticipated these questions and rehearsed his answers on his own. “For now, I’d like to point out to anyone concerned that the entire point of a mask is that you don’t recognize the person underneath it.”

“And Congressman Shido himself?” the same reporter pressed. “There’s been no word from him since, and my sources say he’s been hospitalized. If you believe this wasn’t the Phantoms’s doing, do you think it may instead be the work of Okumura-san’s mystery killer, Akechi-kun?”

“That’s difficult to say,” he replied, not so much as batting an eyelash. “Unfortunately, I’m not responsible for the investigation of Shido-san’s case beyond its connection to the Phantom Thieves, so while I wish him a speedy recovery for the good of the nation, I have no further remarks I can offer about him. Since you seem to have no further interest in Okumura-san, though, please allow us to excuse ourselves.”

The other host of reporters shouted questions in a simultaneous, garbled mess. Haru flinched away from them, unable to pick one voice out from another. Akechi rested his slimy hands on her shoulders, and she froze up. If her voice hadn’t been caught in her throat, she just might have screamed. He made some kind of stern remark to the press about being mindful of her emotional state during this trying time before gently turning her around and guiding her inside the Okumura Foods HQ, which would have been hilarious if it wasn’t happening to her. She managed to match his even, confident stride while security formed a wall at their backs. Once they were inside the company building, finally, _finally_ Akechi unhanded her shoulders and gave her back her personal space.

However, it wasn’t until they were both in the elevator and the car had begun to rise that he remarked, “You have absolutely atrocious TV presence.”

Rankling, Haru eyed him. Once upon a time, she would have stewed in silence. However, these days, she was a woman who could say loud and clearly she hated what she hated. “How is it that everything that oozes out of your mouth makes me want to slap it shut?”

He smiled a perfect, sparkling, toothpaste-commercial smile. “It must be my natural charms.”

_Every. Single. Thing._

“More seriously, you’re too timid,” he continued, smile fading. “You shrink away from the cameras like you think they’re going to bite you.”

He was right, and that only intensified the sting. “Mind your own business!”

“Unfortunately, this _is_ my business.”

“What about you?” she challenged, riding on the boldness her anger gave her. “What was all that about how you’d still capture the Phantom Thieves? How do you intend to make good on your claim that you’ll catch the true killer?”

“Haha, I have no idea!” he chirped. “But it’s what they expected to hear—what they _want_ to hear. That’s what counts right now. That goes for you, too. If we’re going to distract the enemy, you need to learn how to manipulate a crowd.”

“Like you?” she snapped.

“Yes, like me.”

“I don’t want to be anything like you.”

“You’ll need to at least fake it for the next two weeks. And, if I may say so, if you intend to become CEO of Okumura Foods, I think it would be a valuable skill for—”

She whirled on him. “I don’t. Want to be. _Anything_. Like you!!”

He paused. He even looked a little hurt. _Good_. “If you say so, Haru-san.”

“And another thing,” she continued, because she wasn’t ready to stop being angry yet. “Don’t ever touch me again.”

His eyes flew wide in surprise. “Excuse me?”

“Are your ears full of wax, or do you simply like to ignore what people have just said?”

“Er, no, I heard you, but—I did warn you just before we spoke to the press it might be necessary, and you didn’t protest then...”

“I don’t care! Then is not now! And I am telling you now: _don’t ever touch me again_. Do you understand me?”

His lips thinned, and he flicked his gaze to the floor. She almost wanted him to argue the point so she could keep laying into him. However, he only nodded once. “...Very well. I understand, Miss Okumura.”

And that also irritated her, the way he used the English ‘Mi-su’ before her name like she was some sort of mob princess from the movies. But on the other hand, she didn’t entirely dislike it. She definitely didn’t dislike his implicit acknowledgment of who she was as related to whom he’d killed. So, as much as she really wanted to pick a fight, she let it drop.

The elevator dinged when they reached the top floor. Haru strode out to the CEO’s office, ignoring Akechi as he followed her, and yanked the door open.

The CEO’s chair swiveled around, and Sugimura sneered at her from the other side of the desk.

She recoiled as if at the sight of a snake. Honestly, she’d rather have a snake. At least snakes were beneficial for gardens. Clenching her fists, she regained her venom and drew herself up to her full height. “Oh, Sugimura-san. Where’s Takakura-san?” she asked with as much cool politeness as she could muster under the circumstances.

“Never mind that. _What_ ,” he demanded, “do you think you’re doing, Haru?”

‘Cool’ dropped down into ‘freezing.’ “I bet your pardon?”

“Don’t play coy with me, you little tart! I saw you talking to the press, stirring up fresh scandals!” he shot at her, rising to his feet. “Right outside the front door, even! Do you _want_ Okumura Foods’s company stock to keep dropping?!”

Already riled up from before and still eager to spill blood, Haru shouted, “I don’t give a damn about that! I want justice for my father!”

“How dare you raise your voice at me?! Is this the influence of your scruffy new ‘friends’? Leave justice to the police! There’s no reason for you to waste money on a two-bit, fangirl-bait joke of a detective!”

Haru barked out a laugh. For once, Sugimura was more right than he knew. Thankfully, her hatred for him meant it was easy to lie back, “The police haven’t done or found a thing. If I want to hire someone who’ll take my father’s death seriously, that’s my business!”

“You _have_ no business without _me_!” Nettled, Sugimura circled around the CEO’s desk and moved to grab her. She snatched her hand away just in time to evade the first attempt, but not the second. He yanked her forward as she struggled. “The marriage contract that _your father_ drew up stipulates that I’m to receive heavy reparations if the marriage falls through. No matter what, Okumura Foods is going to be mine. So you’d better stop talking back if you know what’s good for you!”

“Stop it! Let go of me! Let _go_!” Haru shoved him and ripped her hand out of his grip at the same time.

Sugimura’s face went red, and he whipped his hand around to slap her—

Or not, because suddenly Akechi was there, blocking his wrist with his own, then turning Sugimura’s hand around to shake as he deftly stepped in between him and her.

“How do you do, Sugimura-san?” he said with pleasant cheer, as if the man hadn’t just insulted him less than a minute ago. While Sugimura stared at him like he’d just been assaulted by a Martian, Akechi affected a doleful tone and continued, “Okumura-san’s unfortunate passing has been deeply unsettling for you and your fiancée both, hasn’t it? I understand. Such tragedies often place stress on otherwise happy relationships.”

Sugimura smacked his hand off, then shook his own as if trying to dislodge a blob of mud. “We don’t need the services of a charlatan,” he snapped.

“A charlatan? Oh dear… I’m very sorry you have that impression of me, sir. If you like, I would be happy to share my credentials and case-to-resolution record. It’s quite high, I assure you.”

“I’m not interested. You have no place here, boy!”

Calling Akechi ‘boy’ when Sugimura was only in his twenties was a scream to Haru. She held her tongue and let her two least favorite people verbally duke it out, though.

“Not interested? I’m surprised you would say that,” Akechi replied, now affecting apprehensive puzzlement. “Aren’t you worried for your safety?”

Sugimura paused. Haru knew then he was going to lose this fight. “What are you talking about? What do you mean, safety?” he demanded.

“You mean you don’t _know_ , sir?”

Haru covered her mouth and turned her head away to keep herself from betraying her laughter. Her shaking shoulders almost gave her away, though.

“Oh dear… It’s all right, Miss Okumura. I’ll explain,” he added, the absolute picture of benevolent concern.

“Explain what? Explain yourself!” Sugimura demanded. The note of anxiety undercut his attempt at authority.

“Of course, Sugimura-san,” Akechi said mildly, folding his hands in front of himself. “I’ve only begun preliminary investigations, so I don’t have any solid conclusions yet, but Okumura-san’s death bore some superficial similarities to the untimely deaths of several of his business rivals. It’s thus possible that his death was murder by assassination.”

“A-assassination?!”

“Yes. Corporate espionage, sabotage, and even hired kills are dreadfully common in today’s society. A rival stifled by or even simply jealous of Okumura-san’s booming business could have hired a corporate assassin to eliminate him in the hopes of stealing his business. In which case, as his intended successor, you are a likely next target, Sugimura-san.”

Haru would have given half her fortune to get a high-def photograph of Sugimura’s expression just then so she could frame it, mount it on the wall, admire it, and then burn it.

“Poor Miss Okumura has been beside herself with worry for you, her beloved fiancé, as a result,” Akechi continued, himself the portrait of sympathy. “You’ll have to forgive her if she’s a bit… hysterical.” He smiled and leaned in with a hand next to his mouth, as if including him in his own little conspiracy. “You know how women are.”

“That… is true,” Sugimura, noted misogynist, agreed. His ruffled feathers settled, and once he looked her over again, he smirked. “So you’re worried about me, hmm, Haru? It’s about time you started acting like my fiancée. I still don’t like that you didn’t confer with me about this, but… I suppose I can let it slide _this_ time.”

_How generous of you,_ she spat inside her head. She almost spat it out loud, too, but Akechi had pushed Sugimura’s buttons with expert ease; morbid curiosity made her want to see how he’d handle the rest. She kept her hands clasped and head demurely down. That’d appease Sugimura, the contemptible prick.

She was right, too. He ignored her as if she wasn’t important to sneer back at Akechi. “That said, is there really a _need_ for a private detective? It’s obvious the culprits were those damned Phantom Thieves.”

“That possibility isn’t completely out of the picture,” Akechi lied smoothly. “But after that recent notice of theirs, it’s clear that there’s either been a major mismanagement of the supposed apprehension of their leader by the police, or the position of leader of the troupe is far less fixed than had been previously assumed. Either way, the culprit is still at large.”

“Urgh… I suppose you have a point,” Sugimura growled. “I-if there’s danger, I suppose there’s no harm in a _little_ investigation.” He got up in Akechi’s face, thrusting a finger up at his chin. “But make no mistake: Haru is _my_ fiancée. Make sure you keep things _strictly_ professional, do you understand me, boy?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Sugimura walked past him towards the door, then paused. “Oh, that’s right. Acting President Takakura’s out proposing a staff meeting for tomorrow. He asked me to pass that on to you, Haru, since it’s about you and your new hire, so make sure you show up at five sharp.”

Ugh. Exactly what she needed. “I’ll remember that,” she said.

“We’ll be discussing your little worries, among other things. _I_ understand your concerns now, but the board might be less understanding. After all,” and Sugimura let out a condescending little laugh as he smirked at Akechi, “a detective’s only as good as the results he gets. Isn’t that right, boy?”

“Indeed he is. That’s why Miss Okumura has put me in her employ,” Akechi replied, tone placid even with the slightest stress on ‘her.’ He tilted his head and smiled that same brilliant toothpaste-commercial smile from before. “Though, since you still fear I’m a two-bit, fangirl-bait joke of a detective, I understand completely if you want to find more reliable protection for yourself on your own time, Sugimura-san.”

Sugimura grimaced. Then he stalked out of the office and slammed the door behind him.

Haru waited ten full seconds, long enough for his stomping to fade into the distance. Then she clutched her belly and _laughed_ , all but dancing over to what was once her father’s chair and flinging herself into it. As it spun lazily around, Akechi’s pleased smile came into view, vanished, and appeared again.

“I take it you approve, Miss Okumura,” he remarked once she came to a stop.

“That man is the only man in this world I hate more than you,” she replied, smiling back. “So yes, I suppose I rather _do_ approve.”

He took the jab in stride and bowed deep at the waist, hand over his chest as if he were a butler. “It’s my pleasure to serve.”

She snorted, smile slinking away. “You don’t need to lie _that_ much.”

Akechi straightened and said nothing, expression pleasantly bland.

After a moment of awkward silence, Haru scooted the chair closer to the desk and inspected the paperwork still there, in case Sugimura had been snooping. Unfortunately, she barely understood any of it. It probably didn’t make any difference anyway with Takakura currently in charge.She pursed her lips as she flipped through the pages. When she’d been little, her father had happily explained business to her—how it worked, how to make deals, so on and so forth. But as she’d grown older, and he’d grown more frustrated with his father’s mismanagement of the company, he stopped treating her like his successor and started treating her like a prop. If he’d lived… if his change of heart had been allowed to stand… would he be teaching her now how to take over the family company? Or…

She shook her head and looked up. To her surprise, she caught Akechi with his eyes downcast, expression melancholy. He snapped out of it a second later, returning to his earlier fake smile.

“Yes?” he prompted.

But she scrutinized him without a word. Had she truly caught him off-guard and glimpsed the boy behind the mask? Or had that, too, been staged to guide her to that conclusion and manipulate her view of him?

She really couldn’t stand Akechi. All her social anxiety, all her trust issues, gushed back to the surface whenever she was with him.

“Sugimura’s part of the conspiracy, isn’t he?” she finally asked. “Was he just pretending not to know who you are?”

“Being attached to Shido’s web doesn’t mean being privy to all the conspiracy’s secrets,” he replied, shrugging. “The vast majority only knew he employed an assassin who enacted mental shutdowns, and were content with that. Pressing too hard could have dire consequences, after all.” He smiled whitely. “So rest assured, his ignorance was no act.”

She allowed herself a brief smile at the jab. It faded when she reflected on the rest of his words. Now _she_ was the one with an assassin in her employ. However, if everything worked out as she hoped, he’d never work as an assassin ever again.

Even if it was damned tempting to ask him to kill Sugimura. God, it would solve so many of her problems.

But no. She was better than that. Akechi might or might not regret murdering everyone in his way, but she wouldn’t use him like that just because he’d do it. Shaking her head, Haru stood up. “I need to go find Takakura-san and talk to him. I’d rather confirm this meeting for myself.”

“Shall I accompany you?”

She hesitated. She probably should bring him along, but…

“I understand. I’ll introduce myself to him on my own time later, then,” Akechi said, reading her mind, or maybe just her body language. “For now, if you have no further need for me, I’ll excuse myself.”

She nodded, relieved. The sooner they were no longer together, the better. He really brought out the worst in her. “It won’t take me long. You may as well go now. I have to head to Makoto’s after this, anyway.” She paused. She felt a little better now—certainly a smidgen more charitable. So… “If she has anything for me that’s relevant to you, I’ll show you later. Oh, and if there is a meeting, I’ll let you know if you need to show up for it.”

He nodded back. “Much appreciated. Good night, then.” He turned for the exit. Before he left, though, he paused. “Oh, and Haru-san...”

“What?”

“Happy birthday.”

Stunned into silence, she could only stare as he slipped out and shut the door quietly behind him.

* * *

Ren jogged through the underground mall in Shibuya, eyes sweeping back and forth for something to stand out to him. Morgana had chewed him out for not paying more attention, but he could _swear_ no one actually told him that the meeting at Makoto’s was supposed to be a surprise birthday party for Haru. He had a sneaking suspicion everyone figured he would just _know_ , or at least that someone else had told him. Everyone’s faith in him as leader was nice, but he had a lot on his mind at literally all times. A little hand-holding wouldn’t be _totally_ out of line.

Well, whatever. Things happened. He still had a couple of hours to pick out a gift, get it wrapped, and get over to Makoto’s before Haru showed up. Thank god Morgana had said something.

Speaking of whom: “Ren! You can! Slow down! Already!” Morgana insisted from the duffel bag on his back. Oops.

Ren shifted from a jog to a power walk. “It’s a big mall. Gotta take a quick look around at least once before I can pick something,” he murmured.

“You already paid the lady at the flower shop to make a bouquet!”

That was true. She’d even given him a discount thanks to all the afternoons he’d spent there working part-time. Reading up on the language of flowers had made him actually quite good at it. But… “Not good enough,” he replied. “If we were just hanging out, a bouquet’d be fine. But it’s her birthday. A bouquet is a present _accompaniment_ , not a present on its own.”

“I’m glad you’re taking this seriously for her sake, but it’s not good to rush—yes! Much better!” he said as Ren slowed to a halt. “It’s _because_ there’s not much time that you need to move with consideration and think carefully before you choose!”

“Akechi...”

“Right, like Akechi!” Morgana paused, then pulled himself up onto Ren’s shoulder. “Wait, what about Akechi?”

On his shoulder, he could see what Ren saw: Goro with his arms folded and a hand on his chin, standing in front of the make-up shop, brows furrowed in deep consideration. Ren exchanged a glance with Morgana, then walked up to him, hands in his pockets. He thought Goro might be too lost in thought to notice, but he glanced up at him once he was a couple of steps away.

“Oh, Amamiya,” he said. “Here for gift shopping, too?”

Even Goro knew it was Haru’s birthday? Ren found himself somewhere between ruffled and impressed. “Yeah.”

“Did you have anything in particular in mind to get Haru-san?”

“I’m still working on that.” A beat. “How about you?”

“Mmm...” He turned his gaze back towards—Ren tracked his line of sight—the row of perfumes, it looked like. “I thought a discreet, floral fragrance might suit her, but… the more I think on it, the more I doubt she’d appreciate receiving a gift like that from me.”

“Why’s that?”

Goro lowered his hand and gave him a rueful smile. “Well, to be more precise, I think it might be inappropriate for _any_ boy to buy make-up for a girl with whom he’s not romantically involved. There’s an implication there—a message saying, ‘This is how I want you to look,’ or in this case, smell. Do you really think Haru-san would appreciate that, coming from me?”

Point taken. “Definitely not.”

“I thought not. But I’m sure she wouldn’t mind it from you, her boyfriend…?”

Ren held back a smile. Was Goro fishing for information? How cute. “I’m not her boyfriend.”

“Oh? You’re not?” He looked at him with eyes wide, as if in total innocence. _What a piece of shit,_ Ren thought with affection. “You two seemed awfully friendly from my view from the floor, though…”

He chuckled. “Jealous?”

Goro dropped the act enough to roll his eyes. “Hardly.”

Ren stepped over to stand next to him. “We’re not dating. Yet,” he clarified, looking over the make-up. Floral perfume _did_ seem like a nice gift for Haru. But… hm. Maybe Goro was right about it being presumptuous. Besides, make-up in general was more Ann’s thing, though he didn’t think Haru would _dis_ like it.

“…So you intend on asking her out?”

Well, damned if that wasn’t an awkward question. Technically, yes, but Ren didn’t want to make Goro give up. “I’m thinking about it.”

“Oh? Don’t you like her?”

“I like all my friends.”

“All of them? Does that include me?” Goro asked, smiling as if it were a joke.

Ren smiled back. “Yeah.”

He choked, blushed, and coughed into a closed hand. Did he seriously not expect a positive answer? God, he could hug him right now. Probably a bad idea in public, though. Goro obsessed so damn much about his image. “I-in any case, it seems we won’t find anything promising here. Since we’re here for the same thing, would you care to take a look around together?”

“Sure.”

Morgana grumbled in his ear. Ren ignored him and walked, step in step, with Goro through the underground mall, weaving around clusters of shoppers as necessary.

“So how’d it go with the press?” he added.

“Fine enough. Haru-san was rather agitated afterwards, though. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you tonight.” When Ren didn’t respond to this, he continued, “I left after that. For all that I’m searching for a material gift, the best present I could give her is an evening without me.”

Ren scratched his cheek. “Do you dislike her?”

“Hm? No, not really, but it’s obvious she dislikes me. I don’t expect a birthday present to magically fix that, but...” He shrugged. “It will make both our lives easier if we can get along a bit better.”

Ren gave Morgana a knowing smile over his shoulder. Morgana grumped at him back, but said nothing. “Glad to hear you’re taking this seriously,” he told Goro.

He laughed faintly, turning a smile towards him. “I’m not _completely_ ungrateful to you, you know.”

He grinned. “Oh yeah? That’s news to me.”

His smile turned wry, and he shrugged. “I suppose it’s not a fact I broadcast.” His pace slowed as they turned a corner and he glanced to the sweets store coming up on the right. “Who’s handling the cake, incidentally?”

“Not me,” Ren replied, which was the extent of his knowledge on the matter.

“Hmmm...”

Goro headed inside, so Ren followed him. As usual, it smelled heavenly inside. Goro re-assumed a similar contemplative pose from before in front of the display of cakes, cookies, and chocolates. Ren crouched down in front of it and to the side of Goro, so he wouldn’t block his view while still getting a good look for himself.

“Who _is_ taking care of that?” he murmured over his shoulder.

“Lady Ann said she would.” Morgana’s whiskers trembled as he added dreamily, “I’m sure she’ll pick out the most divine cake! I can’t wait to have a taste…!”

Ren chuckled and scratched him under the chin, then turned his attention back to the display. But…

“I wouldn’t recommend sweets in your case,” Goro said behind him.

He glanced back. “Why’s that?”

Goro’s attention was still fixed on a set of cakes. There were a few slices of uji matcha cake today; Ren made a mental note to come back tomorrow to see if he could grab a slice for Ann. She loved that kind. “I’m selecting a gift for Haru-san with the knowledge that she doesn’t like me in mind,” he explained. “So my focus is on ephemeral gifts.”

“Ephemeral?”

“Yes. Things that won’t last, because they’ve been used up or consumed. Something she can enjoy for a moment, then toss out.”

Ren paused. “That… sounds kind of depressing, when you put it like that.”

Goro chuckled. “Do you think so? But it’s better that way. Haru-san will have something nice, without having to deal with a lingering reminder of me.” He lowered his hand from his chin. “But you’re one of her _dear_ friends, so something like jewelry—a long-lasting gift that she can wear every day if she so chooses—would be better for you.”

That second of sarcasm aside, he had a point. Ren considered it. There _was_ a jewelry store in the mall… Maybe he ought to take a look, see if they had anything nice on sale.

On the other hand, it suddenly struck him, Goro wasn’t wrong about Haru disliking him. If Ren intended on asking her out, he ought to think of something that wasn’t one of his suggestions verbatim.

Something lasting, though… Ren rubbed the back of his neck, cricking it back and forth as he thought. That’d be a good complement to a bouquet of flowers, something that by its nature would only last a short while. He liked Akechi’s thought of something that would remind Haru of him, too. He didn’t think he could do something that would stand out more than flowers, and getting potted plants felt redundant. But… Oh. O _ho_. Come to think of it, the sundries store had a vase, hadn’t it? He was sure he remembered that from when he jogged past earlier. Not only could Haru put the bouquet in there, it’d be the perfect spot for any future bouquets. He smiled, pleased with himself. Perfect. He’d have to head over there after this.

“Do you know what Haru-san’s favorite flavor is, Amamiya?” Goro asked then.

Ren paused. She struck him as the type to like strawberries, but honestly, he was probably just assuming that because she wore pink. Based on interactions they’d actually had… “Coffee, maybe?”

“Chocolate,” Morgana supplied. “I don’t know if it’s her _favorite_ , but she does like it.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

He approached the counter and asked the lady behind it after the truffles on the bottom row. A moment later, she’d selected eight fine chocolate truffles for him, four milk, four dark, and wrapped them up in a pair of fine, four-slotted boxes with dark brown ribbon holding the two together. Ren watched over his shoulder as he addressed the gift tag in impeccable handwriting: To Miss Okumura, From Goro Akechi, Happy 18th birthday. Then he leaned back, blinking, as Goro accepted a gift bag and offered it to him. Assuming he just wanted him to hold it as he paid, Ren took it, but Goro didn’t try to take it back as the two left the shop.

“Amamiya, could you please do me a favor?” he asked instead as they began to circle the mall.

“’Sup?”

“Could you give that to Haru-san for me tonight?”

“Why not do it yourself?”

Goro smiled at him. “Hm? Didn’t I say so earlier? The best gift I could possibly give her is an evening without me.” He gestured at the gift bag with the chocolates. “That’s just an extra.”

Ren considered this. “Huh.”

“…Besides which,” he added, “let’s be honest: none of your friends like me, do they?”

“Who knows? You’d have to ask them yourself.”

He frowned. Then he glanced down at Morgana. “Well, ‘Mona’?”

“No comment,” said the not-cat.

He sighed, head tilting right. “You don’t need to be so coy about it… I’d rather you two just be straightforward with me.”

Ren smiled. “You do, do you?”

“Yes. I do. I’m tired of playing games.”

“Oh, _really_.”

Irritation flashed across his eyes. He shook his head. “In any case, it’s obvious you’d all have more fun partying without me there. I know dealing with me has been… trying. I expect not all of your friends believe I’ve really turned over a new leaf, either, so having me around would put them on their guard. That doesn’t sound like much fun, does it?”

“It doesn’t,” Ren admitted.

“See? I might be self-absorbed, but I’m not completely oblivious to others’s feelings,” he said dryly. He paused, then added in a normal tone, “If it were me, I know I’d prefer to be able to relax at a party.”

“Have you been to many parties?”

“None I could relax at.” His lips thinned, and his gaze dropped to the tiled floor. “…You know I don’t have any real friends,” he murmured.

Ren regarded him for a handful of seconds. Then he stepped closer, enough for their arms to brush together. “You have me.”

He wasn’t entirely sure how Goro would take that, so he was pleasantly surprised when he snorted and broke into a laugh. There was something sweet and genuine about it, and it made Ren smile to hear it.

“I thought you might spout a line like that,” he said when he calmed, hand on his chin as he smiled back, “but it’s just like you to actually say it.”

“You think I’m lying?”

Goro came to a halt, lowering his hand. Ren stopped a half-step after him. Shoppers streamed around them, some of them shooting dirty looks. This didn’t bother Ren, but maybe it did Goro, because he slipped over to a bare spot on one side of the hallway. Ren went with him, settling against the wall with him. He waited the moment it took for Goro to collect himself; when he looked up and met his eyes, Ren listened.

“It’s not that I think you’re lying,” Goro murmured. “Even before I came back with… news on the present state of affairs, you were patient and inviting. Your domination stunt aside,” he added, tone briefly wry. Ren flashed him a saucy grin, and he rolled his eyes before sobering. “I can’t think of any merit for you to string me along like that when you thought you’d won. It’s just…” He bowed his head. “I can’t think of any merit for you to mean it, either.”

Ren considered this for a long moment. “You’re not used to relationships without strings attached, are you?” he remarked softly.

He glanced to one side and said nothing.

“Do you think of _me_ as a friend?” he pressed.

Goro blinked over at him. Then he arched his eyebrows. “…What would you say if I said ‘no’?”

“I’d say that makes me pretty sad.”

He smiled. “Really? Why’s that?”

“It’s always sad when you like someone who doesn’t like you back.”

His smile broadened and he laughed a little. “Well then, it’s lucky for you that ‘no’ would be a lie.”

Ren laughed too. “Didn’t you say something earlier about being tired of playing games?”

“Obviously, that was also a lie,” Goro said, eyes twinkling. Ren admired what it did to his already handsome face. “I could never get tired of playing with you.”

“What a coincidence. I feel the exact same way about you.”

Their laughter intertwined like the fingers of lovers clasping hands. Ren had to admit, he never expected to have a Moment with Goro in the middle of a busy mall, but he sure wasn’t against it.

“So, to continue what we were discussing earlier…” Goro said, eyes averted, hand back on his chin. “You said you were considering asking Haru-san out… If you do, by when do you plan to do it?”

Ren gave him a considering look. He could feel Morgana staring at him too from his duffel bag. It… was a good question, wasn’t it? He wasn’t sure if he liked putting a time limit on love, but he always _did_ get his best results while under pressure, so… “Before the 24th, definitely,” he said. “But not before the 18th. So, sometime between the 19th and the 23rd, I think?”

“I see. That makes sense.” Goro fell into silence for a moment; then he smiled and chuckled to himself.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing. A passing thought, that’s all.” He lowered his hand and regarded Ren, one corner of his mouth turned up. “In any case, I have work to do, and you still need to finish your shopping, so I’d best head home. If you think it wouldn’t disrupt everyone’s good time, tell the others I said hello, won’t you?”

He nodded once, half-smiling back.

Goro flashed him a broad smile and half-turned towards the nearby stairs, one hand raised in farewell. “Goodnight, then, Amamiya. Goodnight, Morgana.”

“Take care on your way home, Akechi,” Morgana replied, tone neutral. He waited until Goro had climbed the stairs out and left the mall, then all but stuck his nose in Ren’s ear. “All right, I’ll admit it. It looks as though Akechi _is_ trying to put a better foot forward. At the least, he’s clearly given a lot of thought to how Haru and everyone feel.”

“Yeah,” Ren agreed, smiling.

“That doesn’t mean things will go the way you hope, though. Don’t forget that.”

“I think it will.”

“What makes you so sure?”

Ren turned a smirk on Morgana as he strode for the sundries store. Voice kept low, he purred, “What kind of thief would I be if I couldn’t steal a pair of willing hearts?”

He snorted, but at least he sounded amused. “You have a point there. All right. Let’s see just how much you’ve polished your skills as a phantom thief, then!”

* * *

Despite himself, Akechi smiled at his phone as he finished blow-drying his hair. Ren had sent him several photos of Haru’s birthday party, from her blowing out the candles to everyone huddled together to open presents to several shots of everyone hanging out to simply have fun. According to his commentary, the others had said “hello” back, and Haru had even enjoyed his present. Of course, she’d “enjoyed” those truffles by promptly sharing them with everyone, which is what he figured she’d do. If he were in her shoes, he’d do his best to graciously eliminate a gift from someone he hated by sharing it with his friends and getting rid of it all in one shot.

That being said…

_These chocolates are delicious?? You have good taste,_ said one of Ren’s texts, accompanied by a photo of everyone savoring a piece. Sae must have taken that photo. It was fine if his present didn’t change Haru’s feelings on him. It seemed to have bought him some good will from everyone else, and most importantly, from Ren.

He unplugged the blow-dryer, put it away, and put on his night clothes. Then he brought his phone with him to the living room and set it on the table, next to his laptop. As he’d told him earlier, he’d done some work upon arriving at his apartment—specifically, researching the remains of the conspiracy and the movements of its biggest members. Haru had texted him to let him know that there was indeed going to be a meeting and that the board members specifically wanted them both there. He’d sent back an acknowledgment and no more. There were still conspiracy members in the board, he was certain, but… as he’d told the others, the internal affairs of external organizations was beyond his purview. Shido had sold his services as a hired killer to put Okumura and men like him in his debt, but Akechi’s role beyond that was only to keep a close eye on the Shadows of such men to make sure they weren’t growing any ambitions beyond what Shido found acceptable. Those men’s underlings were generally beneath Shido’s notice.

At the time, Akechi had found that a silver lining, however tarnished; now, it would have been convenient to have that information so he could sell it to the Phantom Thieves for their good will. Oh, well. He’d have to find out the old-fashioned way. Despite everything, he _was_ still a detective. And if he _could_ get on the Phantom Thieves’s good side…

He leaned an elbow on the table and his chin on his hand. Ren… thought of him as a friend. He’d insisted on it. That had stoked his candle-flame of hope. The way he’d talked made Akechi feel valued… wanted. Perhaps (dare he assume?) even _needed_. He could deal with losing one wish if it meant getting another granted, and if he could forge a place at his side… He slid his fingertips up his freshly-washed neck, imagined they were Ren’s, and indulged in a shiver.

It was true that, in some aspects, he couldn’t stand him. But it was also true that he always had fun playing with him. When things were good, he liked him, felt comfortable around him—even happy. As the ace detective facing off against the phantom thieves, he’d lost, and it was only a matter of time before the public found out and spurned him, but…if he could secure Ren’s love, when he kept himself so unshackled and free, wouldn’t that be the greatest victory of all?

But just because he knew now it was _possible_ didn’t mean it would be _easy_. He had a time limit of two weeks. If he wanted to deepen their relationship, first he’d have to get on better terms with _his_ friends. Ren valued them more than anything. Getting on his good side— _fourteen days left to_ _steal his heart,_ Akechi thought with a smile—would require making up with at least a majority of them. Tricky, but… he’d have plenty of opportunities over the next two weeks. He just had to play it straight.

First would be a group apology. He was overdue for that regardless. When he thought back to how he’d threatened them yesterday… Akechi rubbed his temples, grimacing at the memory. At the time, he’d meant it with all his furious heart. After talking to Shido, though, the idea of pursuing revenge against anyone anymore felt so… pointless. No, it didn’t ‘feel’ pointless, it _was_ pointless. Best to lay his stupid hostility to rest sooner rather than later. Nothing would change before that.

Then, afterwards… there was his investigations, but that was the baseline of what he needed to do to regain—no, _gain_ their good will. Exams were coming up; he could charm Ryuji, Ann, and perhaps Yusuke by helping them study. With Makoto, he could probably use their mutual relationship with her sister. Maybe help her strengthen her bond with Sae. Not that Akechi had a strong bond with Sae, but Makoto believed otherwise. Just trying could potentially go a long way.

Morgana… Morgana would be tougher. Akechi honestly had no idea how to secure the approval of a weird feline bandit who insisted he was human. Maybe he could offer to try to investigate into whoever he was before he’d been transformed…? Akechi didn’t think he’d get far with that, since Morgana was missing his memories, but the thought might count.

Futaba was a lost cause. Rightfully so, too. The best he could do in her case was to give her no further reason to loathe him.

Haru… The matter of her father aside, Haru was his romantic rival. Winning Ren’s heart would probably mean securing her eternal enmity. He could deal with that. Standing in front of her as she’d been seated at the Okumura Foods CEO chair had brought back… unpleasant memories. He rubbed his arm as he thought of all the times he’d stood just like that in front of Shido’s desk. He’d told Ren he didn’t dislike her, but he didn’t really like her, either. It was hard to like someone who hated you, no matter how sound their reason for it was.

He shook his head, then checked his laptop. After some digging, and a password to the Okumura Foods internal servers that Haru had given him with her earlier texts, he’d found a recent staff directory for the entire company. Considering the company’s size, it was sure to be valuable, especially since it was the stagnant upper echelons that would matter most. He’d started downloading it just before his shower, and saw it had finished.

Akechi smiled to himself as he opened it up. Haru had said she’d never, ever forgive him for killing her father, and he believed her. In which case, if he wanted to win Ren’s heart with a minimum of drama, he could at least ensure Haru accepted defeat with grace by helping her scour away the scum clogging her inherited company’s inner workings.


	5. How Could I Be Happy About That...?

More than ever, Haru wished she had Ren by her side. That she had to have Akechi instead, here in a meeting room at Okumura Foods HQ, privately discussing their strategy at Takakura’s meeting in half an hour, only made her _more_ nauseous with anxiety. She was all for pulling up the weeds in the board associated with Shido and her father, but to then take control of the company herself… Even if it was safe to do so, she didn’t have the experience to run such a huge company, or any company at all. For goodness’s sake, she couldn’t even manage to speak for herself; Akechi had had to offer to ‘represent’ her at the meeting and use that as an excuse to let her keep her mouth shut. At this point, they’d more or less wrapped up their strategy, but… she sighed, gaze bowed.

Akechi, seated two chairs away, regarded her with thinned lips. “Haru-san? May I offer you some friendly advice?”

She frowned at him. “What is it?”

“You need to project more confidence. As you are now, you’re too timid. I may not know anyone on the Okumura Foods board, but I can guarantee they see you as bait to be gobbled up.”

He was almost certainly right, but she glared at him anyway. “Do you have any _useful_ advice?”

“Well… yes, actually, if you’re willing to accept it.”

That gave her pause. “Tentatively so.”

“Could you stand up then, please?”

She did, and he joined her. After he pushed the chairs in to give them both space, he regarded her with folded arms and a hand on his chin.

“Yes, you’re definitely too timid,” he remarked. “Not that projecting that image can’t be useful, but the board won’t take you seriously as you are. So, let me teach you a useful trick for dealing with adults.” He raised one hand. “Stand up straight, arms at your side. Take a deep breath—good—now square your shoulders as you breathe out. Lift your chin and keep your gaze straight ahead.”

Haru followed his instructions as he gave them. Mostly it left her feeling stiff and unnatural, but she had to admit, by the end she felt a bit stronger.

Akechi watched her, then nodded. He walked several steps away, then turned to face her. “Now walk towards me,” he said, “as if you intend to destroy me.”

_That_ was motivating. She almost smiled, even. She fixed her stare on him, imagined she had her trusty ax in hand, and walked.

Halfway there and he beamed. “Excellent! You’re _much_ more threatening this way! Practice that stance and stride until you’re comfortable with it, and—uh, Haru-san?”

She didn’t stop walking. When she reached him, she pressed a hand to his chest and kept moving forward. Akechi, now baffled, was forced to move with her, and he stumbled and retreated for several feet until she had him pinned to the wall.

At that point, she leaned in and gave him her most poisonously sweet smile. “Like that?”

“Er—yes. Like that,” he replied, blinking rapidly.

And that _did_ feel good. That uncertainty, that _intimidation_ that flickered in his normally smug, superior eyes… She liked the way it made her feel. Like she dominated him. Like she could crush him under her heel if she so chose. It sent a little thrill up her spine, made her want to push him down, down, all the way to the ground just to see the fear on his hateful, handsome face—

Then she realized she was experiencing attraction towards Akechi, _Akechi_ , and sheer revulsion made her yank her hand off and back away a step.

In the intensely awkward silence that followed, he cleared his throat and straightened his tie. “I thought you’d have a knack for it,” he remarked. “You act sweet on the surface, but underneath simmers quite a bit of rage, doesn’t it?”

She frowned. Already the moment had passed. Whether that was a good thing or not, she didn’t know. “What makes you so sure?”

He smiled his toothpaste-commercial smile. “As they say, the devil knows its own.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Let’s try that walk again.”

* * *

Half an hour later, Akechi opened the doors into the 5 o’ clock meeting room, and Haru strode in. The rest of the board, which had already gathered, rapidly fell silent. She lifted her chin and slid her gaze across each member in turn (“ _look at them as if you’re deciding who will die first,_ ” Akechi had advised her); then she smiled her best heiress smile, sweeter and more poisonous than ever. With grace and elegance, she floated down onto her seat, which Akechi held out and then pushed in for her, and sat with back straight like a queen surveying her subjects.

Already everyone looked confused and uncomfortable. Oh, this was _exciting_.

“I apologize,” she said primly. “Have I arrived late?”

“No, you’re exactly on time, Haru,” Takakura said, recovering from his own surprise to fold his hands. He sat in the CEO’s chair, opposite her own. How apropos. Glancing at her companion, he continued, “Goro Akechi-kun, wasn’t it? Why don’t you have a seat as well?”

“Thank you,” said Akechi, who remained standing at Haru’s right hand, “but I’m fine where I am, sir.”

He nodded, seeming unperturbed by this. Haru, however, noted more than a few frowns and dark looks among the rest of the board, including Sugimura, who sat at her right and thus now had an obstacle between him and her. She made a show of pulling out a notepad and pencil from her purse, flipped it open, poised her pencil, and turned her regard back to the board. _The enemy,_ Akechi had encouraged her to think of them. _It’s you and me versus all of them._

She smiled again. The drum of her heart wasn’t just from nerves this time. “Thank you for your patience, then, Takakura-san, everyone,” she said. “Akechi-kun will be speaking for me this meeting. Please, no one pay me any mind.”

That also got a round of surprise, which Haru found bitterly amusing. These men were all too willing to ignore her when she wanted to be heard, and now they were shocked when she invited them to do so? It really was easy to think of them as the enemy, even if her only ally was Goro Akechi.

“Haru-chan,” said one of her least favorites, one of the ones who liked to treat her like she was a scatterbrained toddler, “we all understand your grief over your father’s death, which we all share—” A round of assenting murmurs rippled through the room, none of which Haru trusted. “—but a detective? It really is too much. Things like this will only make the public lose even more of their faith in our company.”

Haru raised her eyebrows at him, then looked up at Akechi. When he met her eyes, she nodded him on in silence. Honestly, she even explicitly _told_ these crusty old men to talk to him instead of her, and they take that as a cue to address her regardless?

“If I may,” Akechi said politely, “why do you think an open investigation to pursue justice for the late Okumura-san would cause the public to _lose_ their faith? Don’t you think that this dedication to its former CEO, even weeks after his horrible death, would inspire them instead?”

Sugimura scoffed. “What’s the point in lingering on such unfortunate incidents? In my opinion, it’s better to press forward and rebuild. And the best way to do _that_ ,” and here he smirked at her—seriously, why did they only care about her opinion when she told them to ignore it?— “is to hurry up our marriage so Okumura Foods can instate a permanent CEO, isn’t that right, Haru?”

She said nothing. Akechi clucked his tongue.

“That’s one way of looking at it, certainly, Sugimura-san,” he said. “Personally, I would be impressed by a company that cared so much about justice for its CEO, especially given that this is a family corporation focused on food distribution.” He bowed his head, affecting sadness. “Simply ignoring Okumura-san’s death strikes me as unbelievably cold. As his successor, I’m shocked you don’t agree.”

“W-well, that’s…” he stammered.

“No one is saying we should _ignore_ it,” another board member cut in, “simply that these are matters best left to the police.”

Nods and murmurs of agreement ringed the room. Takakura, as Haru noted, did not join in. In fact, he seemed to have decided to sit back and watch the room like she was doing now.

“Then you should have no problem with my presence,” Akechi countered, unperturbed. “I am associated with the police, after all.”

“That’s not—”

“Does it bother none of you,” he interrupted, tone doleful and eyes downcast, “that Okumura-san was murdered?” He raised his gaze, now sharp. “Does it bother none of you that any of you might be next?”

_That_ got everyone’s attention. Even Sugimura was watching him, though having heard this already, he didn’t mirror the others’s shock.

“What are you talking about?” another board member demanded, slapping the table with both hands. “Why would the Phantom Thieves target us?”

“About that...” Akechi began. He explained to them what he had to Sugimura yesterday: that if the Phantom Thieves hadn’t killed her father, that the culprit could be a corporate assassin sent by a rival company, and therefore any high-ranking member of the company could get targeted.

Haru watched everyone’s faces closely as he did. Most of the board, which was finally paying attention to him and not her, looked thoroughly, genuinely startled by this. Some of them, who were also genuinely startled, looked alarmed. She made notes of names and reactions, scribbling as fast as she could, keeping her eyes up so she wouldn’t miss a thing.

“...and of course, there is one other, impossible-to-ignore possibility,” Akechi said. “That is to say, that this murder wasn’t committed at the request of a rival company, but someone from within Okumura Foods. Possibly even someone in this very room.”

Oh, _that_ caused an uproar. Even Takakura was stunned, though he still didn’t interrupt.

“That’s absurd!!” Sugimura burst out. “Who here would have any reason to want Okumura-san dead?! His brilliant business strategies were making the company filthy rich!!”

“It’s my job to figure that out, sir,” Akechi replied, demeanor placid even as several board members shouted out in support of Sugimura. “It’s not the only possibility, but as long as it’s _a_ possibility, it’s one I can’t ignore.”

“Ignore it anyway!” Sugimura snapped. Several other board members shot him a surprised stare. “There’s absolutely no way anyone in this room is responsible for Okumura-san’s death!”

Akechi smiled blandly. “Oh?”

Haru could have just _screamed_ with ironic laughter. Instead, she kept up her notes.

Paying attention to neither, Sugimura continued, “You had me a little concerned yesterday with your scare story about corporate assassinations, but Okumura-san was a figure of the utmost respect, and so is this board! You have no right to throw around baseless accusations!”

“Well, for one, I haven’t actually accused anyone, merely presented a possibility,” Akechi said mildly. “For another, Miss Okumura has given me that right by hiring me.”

Haru paused in her note-taking to flash her fiancé a sugary smile.

“You’re overstepping your boundaries, _boy_!!” Sugimura snarled, turning red in the face.

Akechi feigned dejection. “Oh, dear… Sugimura-san, are you all right? You’re taking this awfully personally… Is stress making you lose your temper? You should be more careful of your health.” His eyes, now calculating, flicked up. “It would be terrible if you collapsed in the middle of the street.”

“Don’t be absurd! I’m the picture of health!”

“Oh? Such collapses have been somewhat epidemic lately, though. Even reasonably healthy-seeming individuals simply… shut down. Isn’t that tragic?”

Haru scrutinized the board as the detective spoke. Most of them seemed puzzled; a couple, including Takakura, frowned, as if realizing something was amiss but unsure of what. But of the dozen-plus men who surrounded her and Akechi, three turned white as a ghost at his implications, fear so real and palpable that there was no question they understood what he referenced. Quick as a snakebite, Haru jotted down their names.

“Your concern is entirely unnecessary!!” Sugimura was shouting.

“Now, now,” Takakura said then, finally raising both hands for silence. Everyone looked at him—except for Haru, who shot him a glance and kept up her vigil of the group at large. “This is getting a little out of hand. Let’s all take a moment to breathe and calm down.”

Sugimura shot him a foul look, but adjusted his tie and sat back down, having half-risen. Akechi’s plastic smile continued unabated.

“To tell the truth, I’ve also noticed a pattern of strange deaths among the movers and shakers of the food industry, of which Okumura-san was only the latest,” Takakura continued, folding his hands. “For the sake of my own peace of mind as well as our clients and employees, I agree that an internal integrity search is a good idea.” He nodded to Haru. “Thank you for your transparency on this matter.”

“Of course,” Haru replied, giving him a genteel nod back. “It is of course my sincerest hope that no one on this board had anything to do with it. But as Akechi-kun says, it’s a possibility we cannot afford to ignore. If the press were to find out something so obvious had been overlooked, then the speculation that would cause would trouble the company far more than the investigation itself.”

Takakura nodded. “That’s wise. Well then, please allow me to offer you my support.”

About half the board chimed in offering their support as well. Haru blessed them all with a sweet smile. After her observations and notes, she had a much stronger idea of who was sincere and who was sucking up. “Thank you, Takakura-san, members of the board,” she said. “I look forward to everyone’s review.”

Sugimura scoffed. “What a waste of time. At first you had me thinking your fretting was cute, but you’re going too far, _Haru_.”

“What an odd sentiment,” Akechi remarked. “As Okumura-san’s successor, shouldn’t you be more concerned than anyone about the possibility of internal intrigue?” He waited for Sugimura to open his mouth, then cut him off: “Or else… let me think… A young, ambitious man eager to take over his fiancée’s father’s multimillion-yen corporation, who repeatedly expresses impatience and frustration with an unenthusiastic bride-to-be… who then takes a hard line against examination of the company’s internal affairs… Doesn’t that sound like a highly suspicious individual?”

The room went dead silent. Haru let herself indulge in a smile at the way Sugimura’s face went from red to mottled purple.

“How. _Dare_. You??” he seethed. “I’m Haru’s fiancé! Her father practically _begged_ me to marry her! And this is how I’m treated?! I am _owed_ this company!”

“Then surely you’ll share a copy of that arranged marriage contract with everyone? Since that’s the foundation of your claim.”

Haru’s smile evolved into a broad grin as Sugimura popped his mouth open and shut like a goldfish. When he was on one’s own side, Akechi’s despicable smarm really could be a delight.

So naturally Sugimura turned on his own smarm, leaning back in his seat and flipping his bangs. Haru glanced around; several of the board members were sweating. “This is why teen idols are so annoying. _Obviously_ I don’t have such an important document right on me,” he scoffed. “It’s cute when a high school _girl_ doesn’t know anything, but aren’t you embarrassed as a would-be man to parade your ignorance like that, Akechi- _kun_?”

“Do you think so?” Akechi wondered. “Personally, I’d be much more embarrassed to be so inept of an adult that I need to bully high schoolers to distract from my lies.”

“What lies?! What proof do you have that I’m lying?!” Sugimura demanded, banging a fist on the table. “If you’re going to insist on these outrageous claims, I demand you show proof right now!”

“Why should I show proof?” Akechi replied, eyebrows rising. “That burden, to verify that your engagement to Miss Okumura is legitimate, is on you.”

“Ggkkh…!”

“Settle down, children,” said one of the senior board members, tone as patronizing as his words. Despite his condescending smile, Haru noted the sweat trickling down his face. “There’s no need for all this shouting. Is there really a need to bring out a copy right away? We all know Okumura-san had this agreement with Sugimura-kun, and obviously such a valuable contract would be kept somewhere safe. It might take some time to sort through all of Okumura-san’s things before we find the original copy. Fussing over it for now won’t do anyone any good.”

Several over board members nodded in agreement. Takakura, however, lowered his hands to the table.

“Interesting,” he said. “Because I believe I’m the most familiar with Okumura-san’s contracts and documentations, and I was under the impression his agreement with Sugimura-san was strictly a verbal one.”

The board member who’d spoken, Sugimura, and several others flinched. Akechi caught Haru’s eye and flashed her a smile, and they both went back to watching.

“Come now, Takakura-san, you must have forgotten,” the other man wheedled. “Okumura-san would never leave such an important agreement unwritten—”

“That’s true. Okumura-san was always a stickler for official contracts for major business maneuvers. Which is why I find it strange that I’ve never seen nor heard of this marriage contract before,” Takakura replied.

“J-just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist!” Sugimura protested, eyeballs bulging.

“As acting CEO, I can assure all of you, I’ve become intimately familiar with Okumura Foods’s major contracts. If I haven’t even heard of this marriage contract, frankly, that means it doesn’t exist.”

“H-how dare you—”

As Sugimura blustered, Takakura turned his gaze forward. “Haru. Up until now, I’d been under the impression that you were happy with your engagement to Sugimura-kun. However, this meeting has made it clear I’ve had the wrong idea about a good number of things. May I ask you what it is you think about your would-be marriage?”

Haru’s back was already straight, but her shoulders practically rose as if tied to helium balloons. Aside from her private vent fests with Ren, no one had ever encouraged her to just come out and say what she thought about her detestable fiancée. She could almost cry with joy.

But she restrained herself and instead took an even breath to calm herself. “Sugimura-san is of course a bright man with a bright future ahead of him, thanks to his family. But I don’t feel as though the two of us are compatible as a couple, and think our marriage would end poorly,” she replied, enunciating each syllable like crystal. “In short, I have no desire to marry him whatsoever.”

Takakura nodded once, then looked around the room. “That’s that, then.”

Sugimura sputtered, “B-but Okumura-san promised me--”

“Nothing that was officiated or validated,” Takakura interrupted. “I don’t doubt that he had his own wishes in the matter, but the truth is that there is no contract, and with Okumura-san’s passing, any verbal agreement you had with him is null and void. Only Haru’s wishes in this regard matter anymore, and she has made those wishes unmistakably clear. So, my deepest apologies, Sugimura-kun, but you have no place here, nor are you owed any part of the company.”

Haru had to physically restrain herself from vibrating with glee. Sugimura made no such attempts to hide his rage. A moment later, he snatched up his coat and stormed out of the meeting room.

“This isn’t over!! You’ll regret making a fool out of me!!” he blustered as he went.

“Hmm. I wonder,” Takakura said once he was gone. “Incidentally, Tanaka-san, you seemed quite certain that this contract of his really existed. Why is that?”

The board member from before turned pale. “W-why, naturally because I thought Okumura-san wouldn’t marry off his only child based on word alone! He was keen for years on getting an heir to succeed him, don’t you remember?”

Takakura nodded. “I see. I do remember that.” He looked back to Haru and Akechi. “Thank you both again. It seems that Okumura Foods is even more need of an integrity search than I’d realized.”

About a third of the board members flinched, shifted, or otherwise looked uneasy. Haru finished up her notes, then made a show of snapping her notepad shut. “Oh, no, thank _you_ , Takakura-san,” she replied, keeping her tone and expression pleasant. “It’s my sincerest hope that we can cooperate to make this company better than ever.”

He smiled and nodded to her, then looked around the room. “In that case, please continue to work with Akechi-kun to solve your father’s murder, for everyone’s sakes. I’ll handle internal affairs on my end and keep you updated on any developments, Haru.”

She stood up and bowed with grace. “Thank you very much.”

From there, the meeting was functionally adjourned. What an incredible feeling it was! Never before had Haru felt so accomplished, so _respected_ at the end of one of these hell-gatherings. It was thanks to Akechi, too. She wasn’t about to forgive him for her father, but she might be willing to be cordial, even friendly after this. Ren was right; Akechi _was_ trying to help now. She ought to acknowledge that.

After a brief discussion with Takakura, in which he encouraged her to pursue what (and whom, a topic that left her blushing) made her happy, she left with Akechi for the outside, so energized she opted to take the stairs. At the bottom, when he opened the door to the outside for her, she didn’t even find it annoying. It was a bit of a relief, honestly. She didn’t like being angry or holding grudges. If Akechi kept this up, maybe they could get along after all. As such, she favored him with a smile.

“Thank you, Akechi-kun. For everything, I mean. You really did help me a lot today.”

He smiled back. “I’m glad to hear it, Haru-san.”

But when they approached her limo, he paused. She thought he might open the door for her again, but he just stood there, gazing off into the distance, his profile pensive.

“Haru-san. About what you were saying about Amamiya the other day...”

She tensed as she came to a stop behind him. With the meeting just now, she’d completely forgotten about it. The instant he turned and met her eyes, she knew that was to her detriment.

“I won’t lose to you, either,” he stated, tone and stance and gaze all unyielding.

Haru clamped her jaw shut. The two of them stared each other down for a moment; then Akechi moved to the other side of the limo and let himself in. Stiffly, Haru climbed in on her side, and the chauffeur drove them to Yongen-Jaya in silence.

* * *

Ren had just finished doodling the last of the Big Four’s Palace foyers, filling in some details that Morgana pointed out that he’d missed or forgotten, when Haru and Goro arrived. That they were first of everyone was a pleasant surprise, and he looked up at them with a smile. Both of them looked a little stiff, and both of them relaxed as they returned that smile and sat on either side of him in front of the end table he’d set up for the meeting.

“Hmmm,” Goro murmured, peeking over his shoulder. “Not bad.”

“It’s not anywhere near Yusuke’s level, but it’ll do,” Morgana remarked from Ren’s lap. “How’d it go at the board meeting?”

“Actually quite well,” he said, looking over at Haru.

Haru nodded. “Yes. For once, I felt like the board was trying to keep up with me, rather than the other way around.”

“Good to hear,” Ren said. “What changed?”

Her mouth pulled diagonally to one side. “Akechi-kun gave me a few tips for how to handle the room,” she said, reluctance palpable in her tone. “The rest, he handled on my behalf.”

“Hmm…” He looked over at Goro to gauge his reaction. “Sounds like you two’re developing some good teamwork.”

Goro smiled brilliantly, the one he smiled when he thought he had the upper hand. “Oh, it was nothing. I’m only doing my fair share, since Haru-san has been a great help to me so far, too.”

Ren looked back at Haru. “Oh?”

Expression stormy, she said nothing. Goro meanwhile continued in that smugly pleasant tone of his, “Oh, yes. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have realized at all that something important was within my grasp. I’m truly grateful.”

Ren considered his words and the way Haru grit her teeth; then he reached over and flicked Goro on the forehead.

“Ow!” He rubbed his bangs, bewildered. “What was that for?”

“You’re doing that thing where it sounds like you’re being nice, but you’re actually being a giant asshole, aren’t you?” Ren held up a finger at him. “Don’t do that.”

“I...” Goro stared at him for a second, then at Haru; then he lowered his gaze, abashed. “...I-I’m sorry.”

“Am I the one you need to apologize to?”

He grimaced. “I’m sorry, Haru-san.”

“That’s Miss Okumura to you,” she said loftily.

Ren turned to her, resting his chin on one hand. “Haru. Don’t rub it in.”

She looked stung by that. Ren straightened and looked back and forth between her and Goro.

“You two don’t need to be best friends or anything,” he said. “But you do need to be able to treat each other with civility and respect. If there’s a problem interfering with your abilities to do that, tell me about it. We’ll resolve it here and now.”

They met each other’s eyes across Ren’s face, then looked away. Huh. That felt unusual.

“There’s no problem,” Goro said. “Passive-aggression is just a bad habit of mine. I truly am sorry. I’ll do better at reining that in.”

“I’m just feeling tense, that’s all,” Haru murmured. “I’m sorry, too. I _have_ been lashing out more than I should. I’ll also do my best to keep that in check.”

Ren looked back and forth between the two. _Huh_. That was… a lot easier than he’d thought it would be. “Good,” he decided. “Glad to hear it. But if there gets to be a problem on either end, make sure you let me know, all right?”

They each murmured their assent. Morgana shot Ren a knowing look, and he got his point, but things seemed fairly promising so far.

The others arrived not long after: first Makoto, then Ryuji and Ann, then Yusuke, then finally Futaba. After some chatting and munching on the snacks he’d laid out for everyone, the group settled in, and he set out his doodles. Morgana hopped up onto the table and tapped his paw on them.

“So yesterday morning, Ren and I investigated the entrances to the four Palaces we need to hit,” he said. “They all look tough, but not any tougher than, say, Shido’s Palace. With the strength we’ve all built up until now, we should be able to take each Palace on simultaneously with teams of two, like we discussed the possibility of in the meeting the other day.”

“I’ve given a lot of thought to the breakdown of the four teams,” Ren said, hands folded, elbows on the table. “Since we won’t be able to communicate once we’ve split up, it’s crucial that each team be able to function on its own. Therefore, each team will have a ‘leader,’ who’ll be responsible for making the calls during the heist, and a ‘partner,’ who’ll back them up.”

Ryuji shot a hand up. “Ooh! Ooh! Me! I’ll be a leader!”

“No you won’t.”

“Why not?!”

“Because I’ve already picked who the leaders will be, and these choices are non-negotiable. I can explain the logic behind the decisions if anyone wants to know, but I won’t change my mind.”

“Be aware that Ren and I put a lot of discussion into this, so they haven’t been chosen on a whim,” Morgana added. “If you’re not satisfied, just keep that in mind.”

“Who partners with whom _is_ negotiable,” Ren continued, “as long as the resulting team is balanced. In other words, the two people in a given team need to be able to easily handle physical offense, magical offense, support, _and_ healing with or without items. Morgana and I also put in a lot of discussion on who goes with whom, but there were a few different reasonable match-ups. So if you’re a partner and you don’t like your leader, you can ask to get switched to someone else within reason.”

Makoto pursed her lips. “Hmm.”

Goro’s frown also gave the impression like he’d clued in on where Ren was going with this too. Ren thus wasn’t surprised when he tapped his shoulder.

“Excuse me,” Goro said. “I hate to interrupt now of all times, but before you go on, there’s something I need to say.”

Ren nodded him on.

Despite the permission, he hesitated as he looked around at everyone, whose attention was now on him. He seemed flustered. Very cute. “Well, er… how do I put this… I realize this is highly overdue, but, uh…” He coughed into one fist and scooted back. Hands on his knees, he then bowed so low his forehead nearly touched the table. “…I wronged all of you deeply. I won’t ask for anyone’s forgiveness, as I know many of the things I’ve done are beyond forgiving, but please allow me to offer my sincerest apologies for my disgraceful behavior up until today, especially over the last few days.”

“W-woah, for real?” Ryuji uttered, gaping.

He wasn’t the only one. Everyone, even Ren, was visibly stunned by the sudden display of contrition. It wasn’t that Ren thought he was acting—quite the opposite. It was just…

“No kidding… I never thought I’d see the day Akechi would humble himself,” Makoto breathed, summing up at least Ren’s feelings on the matter.

“I thought I would need to go at least this far if any of you would believe me,” Goro murmured, not rising. “I’m sure many of you still don’t trust me, especially after, ah… I threatened you all for seizing Shido’s Treasure without me. But I’ve had time since then to cool off, and… looking back, I’m ashamed of how I behaved after you all saved my life twice over.”

“C-c’mon, Akechi-kun, you can lift your head already,” Ann stammered, hands palm-out. “It’s embarrassing just watching you.”

He did sit back up, but he kept his gaze down, bangs casting long shadows over his eyes. “Um… that’s basically it. I apologize again for the interruption, and, er… in general.”

“Well… Your apology is appreciated,” Yusuke said, regarding him thoughtfully. “To be honest, I’d thought you would let the matter get swept under the rug.”

“That’s d-definitely the ‘you’ thing to do,” Futaba muttered.

Goro laughed weakly, but didn’t protest.

Morgana meanwhile hummed thoughtfully and looked up at Ren. Ren, who by then had let a corner of his mouth lift, caught his glance and nodded back at him.

“Apology accepted,” he said. “Though I can only speak for myself.”

Goro shot him a glance, relief reflecting off his eyes and faintest of smiles.

“Still don’t forgive you,” Futaba said flatly.

Haru’s mouth likewise remained a thin line. “Mm. Agreed.”

Goro averted his eyes. “...Yes, I understand. I didn’t think either of you would.”

“Well, it’s good you accept that,” Makoto remarked. “For my part, I don’t have nearly as heavy a grievance as they do, so… I’ll accept your apology, too.”

Yusuke nodded. “After Futaba and Haru, Ren is the one with the most right to hold a grudge. If he isn’t going to, I see no reason to do otherwise.”

“I admit, I side more towards Haru and Futaba,” Morgana said. “That being said, I’m willing to accept the spirit behind it… if, of course, you keep up the penitent attitude.”

“Hey, what’s the point in making him bow and scrape forever? He’s already helpin’ us out,” Ryuji pointed out, folding his arms behind his head. “Thanks for the apology, Akechi. It took you freakin’ long enough, but I get needin’ to cool your head first before you can say what you gotta say.”

“Mmm… I’m kinda divided,” Ann admitted, expression clouded. “Ryuji’s got a point, but I don’t think it’s right to forget about Futaba’s mom and Haru’s dad that easily, either...”

“That’s fine,” Goro said. “As I said before, I don’t expect anyone’s forgiveness. I understand if you can’t accept my apology, either. I just felt that if I’m going to be part of the team, it shouldn’t be left unsaid.”

“Well… okay,” she conceded, nodding. “I’m definitely glad you did that much, for what it’s worth.”

His faint smile returned. “Thank you. And thank you, everyone. I’ll do my best to not let you down going forward.” He cleared his throat. “Now, ah, if you would please continue, Amamiya?”

Ren nodded, giving him a slight smile back. “About the team leaders, then—I’ll lead the first. Morgana will lead the second. Makoto will lead the third. And the fourth...” He nodded to Goro. “Akechi. I want you to do it.”

A minor uproar rose among Ryuji, Ann, and Futaba, who all chorused, “Eeehhh?!” while Yusuke and Haru gawked, taken aback.

Makoto, however, was unfazed. “Hmm. I thought so.”

“Wha—seriously?!” Ann uttered, staring at him and her both.

“He wouldn’t need to stress the part about partners not being fixed to a given leader otherwise,” Makoto pointed out.

Goro nodded. “I’m the only one anyone might not want to work with, right? I’d actually planned on waiting until the end of the meeting for that apology, but when I heard that, I thought I’d better do it immediately to help reduce problems.”

“...And Makoto and Akechi demonstrate why I picked them,” Ren said, pleased. He hadn’t coordinated that with either of them, but they took it as smoothly as Morgana, who’d already known. “Any questions?”

“Oh… Yeah, that makes sense,” Ryuji said, one eye shut. “Yeah, okay, I get it.”

“Hmm. This might go more smoothly than anticipated,” Yusuke commented with a smile.

Futaba grumbled wordlessly as she oozed halfway under the table. But she didn’t protest, so Ren took that as a win.

“Obviously, everyone else is a partner,” Ren continued. “I’ll share my tentative assignments, and if anyone’s not satisfied, we can discuss my logic and possible other arrangements.” The other nodded him on. “Ryuji, you’re with me. Yusuke, you’re with Morgana. Ann, you’re with Makoto.”

“Oh no,” Haru uttered.

Ren laughed a faint, rueful laugh. “Sorry. But you and Akechi are already working together in the real world, and that part of the plan will have you both busy. It’ll be easier for both of you to coordinate Palace dives if you stay partnered.”

Goro cleared his throat. “I’m all right with it if Haru-san doesn’t mind,” he offered tentatively.

Haru lanced him with a glare of pure dislike.

“…but if you hate the idea that much,” Ren continued, “you can switch with Yusuke to partner with Morgana instead, if that works for Yusuke.”

“I don’t mind,” he said.

Haru dropped her gaze and bit her lip. “...No, it’s fine,” she said, reluctance palpable. “What you say about coordination is true. It won’t look suspicious to those in the know if Akechi-kun and I are together even in strange places, either. I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?” Ren pressed. “The partner assignments are ultimately suggestions. I don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to do.”

Her gaze gentled, matching her soft smile. He couldn’t help but smile back. God, she was beautiful. “Thank you. But it really is all right.” She sighed, and her breath took her smile with it. “It’s just two weeks. I can endure it for that long.”

Ren could practically hear Goro ellipse behind him. He felt a bit bad for kicking him while he was down, but he pretended not to notice and nodded, then looked at Futaba. “Futaba. You’ll be rotating teams as we go so you can get a feel for all of them, just in case. But for the day of the heist, I want you to support Akechi and Haru.”

“Eeeeehhhhhh?” she groaned. “Why _him_?”

“Because I trust Akechi,” he replied, “but that’s a decision I actively made that flies in face of our actual experience with him, so I want an extra pair of eyes on him. Just in case.”

Futaba flew upright so fast she might’ve been spring-loaded. “Oh, I get it. I’m _Haru-chan’s_ back-up, for when your stupid decision to trust stupid Aketchy blows up in everyone’s faces, again.”

Technically neither he nor any of them had ever trusted Goro before now, but he nodded regardless. “Exactly.”

That got her to grin and snicker. “Yeah, okay. I’ll do it, then.”

By then, Goro’s ellipses were practically deafening. Ren looked over at him to see a distinct downward slant to his handsome lips. He quirked a half-smile in return.

“It’s only a stupid decision if I turn out to be wrong. So make sure you prove me right.” His smile faded. “I’m counting on you to protect them.”

For a moment, Goro said nothing, though the edges of his frown eased back. Then he nodded once. “Understood. I’ll do that.”

Ren nodded back, pleased. From there, he and Morgana led the group into a discussion of the details of the Palaces themselves. This discussion was punctuated by Futaba opening up a bag of wasabi peas and throwing them, one by one, at Goro’s head, punctuated each time with her saying, “Whap.” Reactions ranged from amused (nearly everyone, including himself) to exasperated (mostly Makoto, and even then she was smothering a smile).Goro himself tolerated this mostly with grace, if punctuated by the occasional longest-suffering of sighs. The first time he did was hilarious, sinceat that point he’d been enduring Futaba’s Futabaness for no longer than precisely ten seconds. Eventually, though… well. One thing at a time.

The TV station president’s Palace was located at the station HQ and took the distorted form of a Roman coliseum. Entering had been easy; it was open to all spectators, and was filled with cognitions. (“Whap.”) Once inside, though, they’d had to evade capture by the many guards, who grabbed anyone who made a scene and threw them into the arena to fight—and ultimately get killed by—Shadows. They’d spotted a cognitive double of Shido in the Emperor’s seat (“Whap.” _Sigh_.), while the station president’s Shadow appeared as a local magistrate running the coliseum and currying favor with “Emperor” Shido. The layout was fairly simple with few signs of traps, but the Shadows they’d observed in the arena were strong, easily the strongest of the four Palaces (“Whap.” Assorted laughter.), and after a certain point they needed authorization to proceed further, so they had to turn back.

The IT company president’s Palace was his corporate building (“Whap.”), which took the distortion of a ninja mansion. This one they hadn’t been able to plunge into very far; they’d first needed to find a meandering path around the side, and the walls and roof had both been trapped. (“Whap.” _Sigh_. Some chuckling.) There’d been ninjas everywhere, and while they were weak individually, it made progressing undetected extremely difficult. They hadn’t been able to spot the company president’s Shadow, but they’d overheard a mention of “Shogun” Shido having “fallen ill.” The entire Palace had had an air of tension to it (“Whap.” A certain tension in Goro’s neck), unlike the coliseum, where things seemed to be mostly business as usual.

The former noble’s Palace was at his private mansion in the heart of Azabu, one of Japan’s wealthiest precincts, and took the form of Hollywood, red carpet, spotlights, glitz, glamour, and all. Security had been nearly as rough as at the ninja mansion, but it was easier to sneak in the side. It’d been rife with cognitions of nubile, half-naked twenty-something women. (“WHAP.” Three peas at once. Goro went _ugh_ as the others laughed. Ren glanced at him and the clench in his jaw, and thought hard.) While it hadn’t had the traps of the ninja mansion, it was rife with “Hollywood magic” illusions, so it’d been difficult to navigate; he and Morgana had gotten lost more than once. That’d served them well, though, because they’d found the ex-noble’s Shadow (“Whap.”), who was a sparkly superstar, and his cognition of Shido, who was a big-name director, in one of the dressing rooms. The Shadow had been wheedling the cognitive Shido for bigger and better roles, while “Director” Shido had moped about losing his blockbuster-making inspiration. (“Whap.”) After watching the Shadow damn near have a meltdown over what he’d do if he couldn’t get another starring role, Ren and Morgana had discreetly let themselves out. (“Wha—”)

(Ren snatchedFutaba’s latest hurled pea out of midair at this point, then crunched on it as he made direct eye contact with her. She stared back, then held both hands up in surrender. After that, all further wasabi peas went nowhere but her own mouth. For his help,Goro looked at Ren with an unreadable expression… but his neck and jaw relaxed.)

The last one, for the politician Ooe, had been in the Diet Building like Shido’s had been. However, his Palace took the form of a cathedral, crowned by a massive clocktower that housed a bell to match. Ren and Morgana had had to climb up the carved and decorated walls to find a way inside, but beyond that, it had seemed simple at first. They’d come across a sermon from Shadow Ooe, who took the form of a pope, thundering a fire-and-brimstone sermon about the sins of mankind, how humans were inherently evil and needed a firm and commanding hand to guide them, how God would visit divine punishment on those who dared to step out of line, etc etc etc. It made Ren want to puke. This feeling only intensified when Shadow Ooe had turned the topic to his cognition of Shido, who took the form of God. Literally, just, fucking God. As “God,” Shido was the one who brought down retribution on the wicked, and there was some other bullshit about how a lack of faith was diminishing him and that if people didn’t want to _all_ be judged as sinners they’d better fall in line, which was pretty funny considering according to Goro he’d straight-up refused to work for his real-world self.

Goro offered a lot of useful information, too. The coliseum had underground dungeons that were accessible in the back parts, and they connected to aqueducts that lead all over the place; the ninja mansion’s traps changed constantly, but in a pattern that he wrote down next to his doodle of it, along with how to disarm them; the Hollywood illusions were all movie-themed, and as long as you played along with and then took control of the ‘role’ it forced you into, it was easy to navigate through; the bell in the cathedral clocktower rang on the regular, and if you heard its chime, it would paralyze you with fear, so you when you heard the clock gears start to grind, you had to immediately plug up your ears or dive into a safe room; and so on and so forth. He also explained that the IT president’s Shadow took the form of the boss ninja who’d pledged his blade to “Shogun” Shido. By the end, everyone had a smooth, clear idea of the challenges they’d face and how to bypass most of them.

From there, they discussed who to send where. Though Futaba would cycle through the groups so she’d be familiar with all the Palaces, they agreed that it was best to have the individual teams focus on one each. Ren and Ryuji would take the coliseum; Morgana and Yusuke, the ninja mansion; Makoto and Ann, Hollywood; and Goro and Haru, the cathedral. Futaba said she’d start with the ninja mansion since it sounded like that was the kind of Palace where a thief would need an extra edge. Ren agreed.

With that, the meeting was adjourned—or so it seemed. Goro had one more thing to bring up.

“If there are members of the conspiracy left on the Okumura Foods board,” he said, “does anyone object to using Mementos to find them out?”

Haru blinked rapidly. “Using Mementos?”

Makoto frowned. “What do you mean by ‘find them out’?”

“Exactly what it sounds like,” Goro replied. “If you input the names of a list of suspects into the Navi app, eventually one of them will get you a hit. Then you just have to go in and question the Shadow and apply the information you get to the real world. No one needs to die, I assure you.”

Ren and the others looked around at each other. It sounded reasonable enough, but…

“Now that you mention it, I’ve been wondering something for a while,” Morgana said. “Akechi, how did you learn about Mementos? I get the impression you knew about it even before you forced yourself onto the team.”

“I got a tip from someone knowledgeable about the Metaverse. Does anyone object or not?”

“It feels unethical,” Makoto said slowly. “Like we’re using our powers for our personal gain.”

Goro laughed for some reason.

“Not that I’m siding with Aketchy or anything,” Futaba said, “but I don’t see what’s so unethical about it. We need info to take the conspiracy apart. Questioning Shadows doesn’t feel much different from hacking into a private server, where I stand.”

“The difference is that one of us—me—would personally benefit from it,” Haru murmured. “Makoto is right. The idea of it makes me uneasy...”

Yusuke bowed his head. “Mm. I understand how you feel, but… as I understand it, you all found out about Madarame by getting information from a Shadow in Mementos, correct? And the actions you took thereafter directly benefited me as well as the group.”

“Well, yeah,” Ann said, “but that was after the fact! Nobody knew you’d turn out to be a Persona-User and join the team! At the time, we weren’t thinking of anything but saving someone in trouble and punishing a rotten adult! Right, Ryuji?”

Ryuji scratched his head. “If I’m bein’ totally honest, at the time, I was mostly thinking about how we could score even more popularity by goin’ after a big target—ow!”

Ann withdrew her smacking hand. “You only had to say ‘yes’!”

“It seems like you’re all divided on the matter,” Goro observed before they could descend into bickering. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make any waves. If it helps, I don’t see this as necessarily benefiting Haru-san, but rather, a way of decreasing the conspiracy’s influence. If, for example, the current acting president is a member, then it’s inevitable that if Okumura Foods recovers as a company, they’ll start funneling funds towards Shido again. And quite frankly, we’re nine teenagers against a Tokyo-wide organization composed of an array of rich and influential men. The Metaverse and our Personas are the only weapons we have that gives us a real edge against them. Wouldn’t it therefore be best to use every related resource we have at our disposal to take them down?”

Morgana’s tail curled. “Hmm… When you put it like that, it sounds reasonable, but…”

“I think we ought to be cautious of any course of action that Akechi-kun thinks is reasonable,” Haru said flatly.

There was a general noise of agreement, even from Futaba. Ren remained silent. Goro must have noticed that, because he sighed and looked his way.

“What do _you_ think, leader?” he said.

Ren held his chin as he met Goro’s gaze. “Is that how you got your start?”

“I’m sorry?”

“As a detective. Going into the Metaverse and interrogating Shadows.”

“Ahh, ahaha. You’re as insightful as ever. Yes, it was.”

Ryuji’s face screwed up. “I thought you got your start from makin’ people go psycho and ‘solving’ the murders that doin’ that made happen?”

“That didn’t come until later,” Goro said, tone a little testy. “Granted, I suppose it makes no difference in the end, but still. Did you really think I immediately resorted to murder?”

“I mean… yeah?” Ryuji said, to more general sounds of agreement.

He peered around the room. “…If you all thought I was that bloodthirsty, why did you even let me come back?”

No one had an answer for that. Ren watched Goro for a moment; then he turned his attention to the group at large.

“I agree with Futaba,” he said. “We need information. Questioning Shadows doesn’t strike me as inherently more unethical than hacking servers, and we’ve never been bothered by her doing that when it was convenient for us. As long as we take care in how we use that information, I think it’s fine.” He looked over at Makoto and Haru. “That said, I also think this should be unanimous, like the rest of our decisions. So if you two really insist against it, we won’t do it.”

Makoto looked at Haru. Haru pursed her lips, looking troubled.

“I don’t know...” she murmured. “I don’t think I’m capable of making an objective decision about this.” She looked up. “To be completely honest, I kind of want to do it. I want to know who I can trust. But the fact that it was Akechi-kun’s suggestion makes me reflexively want to reject it. So I’ll abstain instead. If everyone else agrees it’s all right… I’ll go along with it.”

“I stand by my earlier assertion,” Yusuke said. “I agree that we should hold ourselves to a certain standard so as not to fall into corruption, but no matter how I look at it, this isn’t about personal gain; it’s about protecting one of our own. We should always make that a priority.”

Ann perked. “Yeah… yeah! Yusuke’s right! If we don’t steal anyone’s heart, then we’re just doing what we can to keep Haru safe! I’m all for that!”

Ryuji grinned. “Same here!”

“Likewise,” Morgana said, nodding.

“Hmm… If we do this, who’s going to do the interrogating?” Makoto said. “We don’t have much manpower to spare.”

“Haru, Akechi, and me,” Ren said. “Haru has a right to hear that information herself, and Akechi has experience with this. I’ll go to make sure he stays in line and doesn’t kill anyone.”

Goro’s head sank. “Again, I don’t automatically resort to murder as a first option...”

“No stealing, either,” he continued, ignoring him. “It’ll be purely for information.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “All right. If those are the terms, I’ll agree to it.”

With that, it was unanimous. After some more discussion, the team agreed to all get together at Mementos the next day after school. Ren, Haru, and Goro would focus on questioning the Shadows of those among the Okumura Food board who got back hits, while the others would work on clearing requests from the Phan-site, which had built up during the time Ren had been “dead.”

* * *

Friendship, Akechi began to conclude, was exhausting. At the very least, he sort of wished he hadn’t agreed to let Futaba ‘mess with him’ however she wanted. Letting her throw wasabi peas at his head was irritating enough without everyone else laughing at his expense.

Still, it would be worth it in the end, he told himself as the others gathered their things to leave. Ren had even come to his rescue, as it were. It ruffled Akechi a little to have to _be_ ‘rescued,’ but… he did like that Ren cared enough to do something about it.

Before he descended the stairs to Leblanc proper, he indulged himself one last lingering look at their leader, who was cleaning up everyone’s empty snack bags. He considered offering to help him out, but Haru beat him to it by going ahead and doing it. Goro tensed as Ren smiled at her, then left Leblanc with his back straight. Let this one go. He’d have another chance.

Most of the others dispersed once outside. Goro made sure to exchange goodbyes with the rest of them, but one he didn’t need to; Makoto walked with him to the train station. That was only mildly awkward. He glanced at her on occasion, and so caught her doing the same back. When they swiped their transit passes and settled in to wait for the next train, they stood an almost personable distance apart.

They might have spent the entire wait in silence if Akechi hadn’t cleared his throat, drawing her attention. “So,” he murmured, keeping his eyes forward, “since we’re here, there’s something I wanted to ask you...”

“Yes?”

He glanced her way, meeting her wondering eyes. “Were you really jealous of me?”

She grimaced. “I should have figured you’d ask something like that.” She pushed her hair back and faced forward. “…Yes, it is. Like I said, my sister respects you and spent so much more time with you… It’s hard not to compare the two of us, especially since we’re the same age.”

Akechi breathed a faint laugh. “You honestly think your sister respects me?”

“Huh?”

“Like most of our work colleagues, Sae-san can’t stand me. She only tolerates me because she has to.”

Makoto gawked at him. “What? That can’t be true.”

“Can’t it? Have you ever heard her say anything positive about me?”

“Um…”

“In truth, she resents me,” Akechi continued, turning his gaze forward. “She sees me as ballast weighing down her career—a child she was forced into babysitting because she’s a woman.”

“How do you know that?”

“You know she has a Shadow, right?”

Makoto fell silent.

“She’s not exactly wrong, either.” His grip on his briefcase tightened. “It’s absolutely true I was shoved onto her. None of the _male_ prosecutors wanted to deal with me, so they had me work with Sae-san because they saw her as ‘more naturally inclined’ to dealing with minors.”

Her eyes narrowed. “...I take it they had Shadows, too.”

He shrugged. “It’s amazing how many people do. So you see, you have nothing to be jealous of. Your sister almost certainly likes you better than she does me.”

She bowed her head. After another moment of silence, he looked over at her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “I thought you’d be happy to hear it.”

“How could I be happy about that…?”

A train rushed into the station, then slowed to a halt. It wasn’t Akechi’s. Makoto didn’t move either. The crowds flowed around them like a stream around a pair of mossy rocks. A moment later, the air settled, leaving the two of them alone in the station.

“Sis sees me the same way too, actually,” she murmured.

“Hm?”

“As ballast. As a child she has to babysit.”

“How do _you_ know that?”

“Because one night at dinner, around half a year ago, she snapped and said basically that.”

Akechi almost said something; decided not to at the last second.

She looked up at him. “…But I don’t think that’s the _only_ way she feels about me.”

He met her gaze with a slight frown.

“It’s ironic,” Makoto continued, “but ever since she spoke to Ren last month, she’s gotten more relaxed, and we’ve gotten closer. Maybe she does feel that way when she’s stressed and frustrated, but people can often have complicated feelings for those in their lives. So… even if she does resent the way you came into her life, I still think she respects you as a detective.”

Akechi averted his eyes. Considering she had to know by now that his solved cases had been a sham from the start, he wasn’t so sure about that.

After a moment, Makoto pushed her hair back and cleared her throat. “Hey… you know how we used to do study sessions together?”

“…Yes?”

“If you’re not doing anything after this, would you like to join me for one at my place? We both have entrance exams to worry about, after all.”

He blinked at her rapidly. Though her voice had been soft, her gaze was unswerving. He smiled slightly, relaxing. He’d planned just to get on her good side and nothing more, but this…

“All right. Thank you, let’s do that,” he said, nodding.

She smiled back. By all appearances, it was sincere, like she was pleased to have the opportunity to spend time with him.

…this wasn’t so bad.

The next train came soon after. Makoto and Akechi boarded. Half an hour later, they walked into her apartment, the city lights already twinkling through the windows. As usual, the place was fastidiously clean, to the point it almost seemed unlived-in. Most of Akechi’s apartment was little different, admittedly. They sat together at the dining table, brought out their textbooks, notebooks, and study guides, and got to work. Studying together like this, something they hadn’t done in ages, gave him a not unpleasant sense of nostalgia. A key difference jarred it, though, and that was—

“You’ve gotten much more assertive,” Akechi observed once they reached a break point.

She blinked up at him as she set out a pair of steaming cups of tea for them. “Hmm?”

“You used to be a meek goody-two-shoes who did whatever she was told. Now you have steel in your spine,” he clarified. “This isn’t a new observation, mind you. It just struck me all over again.”

She smiled as she sat down. “Thanks for noticing.”

He chuckled. “You’re cheekier, too.”

“Well, I _am_ a rebel with a cause now,” Makoto said straight-faced.

His chuckle turned into an outright laugh. “It’s a good look for you.” He took a tip of green tea. It was rather soothing. “…And it’s all because of Amamiya, huh.”

She nodded once, taking a drink of her own. “If I hadn’t met him and the others, I wouldn’t snapped and started standing up for myself.”

“‘Snapped,’ huh? Come to think, I _do_ recall hearing about your motorcycle rampage in Kaneshiro’s bank.” He smiled. “You had the Shadows in quite an uproar.”

Her lips thinned as she set down her cup. “Oh, right… You were skulking around, too. As the ‘man in the black mask.’” She shook her head. “It’s… still strange, to think that you had these powers since far longer than I did.”

“…It’s strange for me too, but in a different way,” Akechi admitted.

He took a longer drink, mulling on his own words. He’d always held Makoto in contempt for being a ‘good girl,’ one of the few things that consistently shone through his pleasant mask, but… after encountering Shido’s cognitive version of himself, he’d come to realize it was because Makoto back then had reminded him of himself. A good little child who jumped to obey the demands of those who looked down on them, all out of a meager hope of praise and approval…He saw that part of himself in her, and he couldn’t stand it. Seeing how much stronger she was now after having met Ren?

It made him hate his weaknesses that much more.

“How so?” Makoto prompted then.

But he only laughed and drained his cup. “Isn’t it obvious? If things had turned out a little differently, maybe you would’ve ended up my partner in crime.”

She scowled. “You mean, done mental shutdowns with you? Sorry, but I would never do that.”

“True.” He peered down at the dregs at the bottom of his cup and wondered what fortune it told. “Knowing who you are now, it’s likelier that you would’ve pulled me back from the brink.”

Her eyes widened.

He set his cup down and forced a smile. “But that’s a rather depressing topic, isn’t it? We ought to get back to our studies before we get too distracted.”

“Hmm.” But Makoto didn’t argue with him, and they resumed their review of entrance exam materials.

Before they could get much further, though, the apartment’s front door opened and Sae walked in. She took off her shoes in the foyer and beelined to her room without paying either of them any attention.

At least, not until Makoto said, “Sis? What’re you doing back so early?”

Sae paused long enough to glance at them. “Hmm?” When she saw him, she did a double-take, blinking wide. “Akechi-kun? ...Now there’s a sight I haven’t seen in a while.” She looked over at Makoto. “There’s something I needed to pick up, is all. I’ll be heading right out again.” Then she looked back at him. “So you two are studying together again?”

“For tonight, at least,” he said. “Entrance exams and all.”

She shook her head, a pair of fingers on her forehead. “It _is_ that season, isn’t it. What a shame… I could have used your help down at the prosecutor’s office.”

“Oh?” Makoto said, shooting Akechi a look. “You need him that much, sis?”

“At the very least, it would make things easier. But I’m not going to steal him from you, Makoto,” Sae said dryly. “Excuse me.”

She left for her room. Makoto gave Akechi a knowing smile. Akechi, however, was not impressed.

When Sae reappeared a moment later, he called to her, “By the way, Sae-san, I needed to discuss an issue with my savings account with you...”

“Can it wait until tomorrow? The taxi’s waiting,” she said, pulling on her shoes.

“Mmm, normally I would say yes,” Akechi said, shooting Makoto a furtive look, “but it’s something I can’t handle without you, my legal custodian...”

“Your _what_?!” Makoto uttered, jaw dropping. “I never heard about this before!”

“Oh, I never told you? I suppose it wasn’t relevant,” Sae said, adjusting her coat. “Since Akechi-kun’s a minor and has no parents, when he was accepted onto the force as an outside liaison detective, someone had to be appointed his legal guardian for the paperwork.” Her lips pursed. “And that was me.”

“I… I had no idea…”

“Well, I couldn’t very well have a boy living here with you, could I?” She looked at him. “In any case, I can spare a couple of minutes if need be. Can you give me the quick version?”

But he held out a hand. “Thank you anyway, Sae-san, but it’s a little too complicated to condense that far. I’ll make do until tomorrow after all.”

She nodded. “Tomorrow, then.” And then Sae was out the door.

Akechi watched her go. Then he fixed Makoto with a knowing look of his own.

She stared back at him, still visibly stunned. “Sis… is your guardian? But I thought…”

He shrugged. “It’s a bit complicated. In any case, as you see, it’s not like she does it out of any sense of affection. It’s more like she’s my legal representative until I come of age. Our relationship is purely professional. So, like I told you before, you really have nothing to be jealous of—”

She shot to her feet, cutting him off, and stormed past the foyer and out of apartment. Akechi followed her in confusion, careful to prop open the door on the way so they didn’t end up locked out. He caught up with her as the elevator doors opened for Sae. Hearing the two, she turned towards them, blinking in confusion.

“ _Sis_!!” Makoto demanded, stopping a few feet away. “Did you really leave Akechi-kun to fend for himself, even though he was a minor and you were his guardian?!”

Oh god. “That isn’t why I told you that,” he protested, embarrassment heating his tone. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Akechi-kun didn’t mind,” Sae added, sounding taken aback. “He said he was fine on his own.”

“Bullshit!! Did you really think an orphaned kid would actually be fine living alone?!”

“Please go on ahead, Sae-san,” Akechi said hastily, attempting to pull Makoto back by the shoulder. “I’ll clear this up with her.”

“Or was it me?!” Makoto insisted, swatting him away without looking at him. “Did you think I was such a burden that you couldn’t let another kid my age move in?!”

To Akechi’s surprise, that actually seemed to strike home, from the way Sae flinched. “It’s true I was having trouble balancing taking care of you with my career,” she admits reluctantly. “There also just wasn’t space for Akechi-kun. If he’d been a girl, maybe the two of you could have shared a room, but he wasn’t, so it was out of the question. I didn’t want you getting distracted from your studies by boys.”

“Well, joke’s on you, because I’m a lesbian!!”

Dead silence. Makoto’s face slowly filled up bright scarlet. Sae stared, apparently too stunned for words.

But Akechi, who had figured this out a long time ago, coughed discreetly into one fist. “I don’t know that it makes a difference now,” he offered, “but while I do find some girls attractive, I largely prefer boys.” He flicked a hand towards Makoto, side-eyeing her. “…and of those girls, no offense meant, but your sister is _absolutely_ not my type.”

“Well. That’s. Er,” Sae uttered. She cleared her throat as she shifted her weight. “I-is this really the time to discuss this? What’s done is done.”

“L-look, that—that wasn’t the point!” Makoto protested hotly, still bright red. “The point is that if you were his guardian, you should have actually looked after him!”

“I told you, it’s _fine_ ,” Akechi insisted, touching a pair of fingers to his temple. “It’s not like Sae-san wanted to be my guardian. She was forced into it.”

She whirled on him. “That’s no reason not to take it seriously!! If she had, then maybe you wouldn’t have—”

Makoto cut herself off, which was good, because Akechi had been about to do it for her. Silence as tense as a coiled snake curled around the three of them. Then he cleared his throat.

“Look. I appreciate what you’re trying to do,” he said, more stiff than gentle. “But it’s as Sae-san said: what’s done is done.” He nodded to Sae. “Sorry to hold you up. I’ll walk Makoto back to the apartment.”

“...Thanks,” she said, stepping inside the elevator. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Makoto stomped back to the apartment before the elevator doors had finished closing, so Akechi had to hurry after her. Once they were both inside, she turned to him, hands clenched.

“Why are you okay with this?” she asked, voice low.

“It’s not that I’m _okay_ with it, per se. But both of us were forced into a situation we didn’t want, and it’s all in the past now. There’s no reason to get bent out of shape over it.”

“Bullshit!! You spent the last two years murdering your way towards revenge against a man who wasn’t even in your life anymore for being a failure as a parent! There’s no way you didn’t hold a grudge against Sis for being a bad guardian!”

Akechi gave her a flat stare and said nothing.

She held his stare in defiance. After a few seconds of silence, her eyes widened in realization. “Wait. Is that why you had us raid her Palace in the first place? Was that your revenge against _her_?”

He rubbed his temples. “No, of course not. ...is what I’d like to say, but I can’t deny there were elements of that there. Mostly, though, it was because she was a convenient target for the plan to catch Joker in the act.”

“...I see.” Makoto bowed her head. “Then what about now?”

For a moment, Akechi mulled it over. It was true he’d resented Sae for being just like the other adults who treated him like a burden. But while she’d been emotionally neglectful, she’d performed adequately in the technical aspects. Of course, even Shido had ended up paying for his schooling and apartment once the mental shutdown business started, but this was this and that was that. Sae’s anger at having to deal with him had been nigh palpable at times, but she’d also habitually taken him out to dinner, introduced him to her sister—a girl his own age, for all that was worth—and she talked to him seriously about cases.

“I don’t hate her,” he said slowly. “I don’t like her, either. I’d go so far as to say I dislike her, even. But I don’t _hate_ her.”

Makoto shut her eyes, grimacing. “I see,” she repeated.

“Why are you so hung up on this?” he added. “It’s unlike you.”

“You think so?” She frowned up at him. “Maybe it’s unlike the me you used to know. But the situation you described, where Sis is your legal guardian but left you to fend for yourself, is just so flagrantly unjust to me. I’m shocked that the two of you see nothing wrong with it.”

“Is it? Then let me ask you this. Would it have been okay for Sae-san to leave me to my own devices so long as she’d never been appointed my guardian?”

“Th-that’s...”

He lowered his eyes. “I’ll admit it would have been nice to have a warmer, kinder guardian. But...” He met her gaze. “Living alone has its own advantages: privacy and freedom, for example. And if Sae-san had let me move in with you two, it would have only caused friction, even if we’d moved into a larger apartment to accommodate for my presence. I promise, the matter of my living arrangements was something we discussed and mutually agreed upon.” It’d been a rather one-sided agreement, admittedly, but he hadn’t wanted to live with Sae anyway, then or now.

“Oh… I see.” Makoto pursed her lips. Then she sighed. “I’m sorry. I do see your point, now that you’ve laid it out. I got carried away.”

“It’s fine,” he said, and was surprised to find he meant it. Because of that, he added, “Actually, on some level, it was nice. It’s not often people jump to my defense so passionately. I… appreciate it.”

“Akechi-kun…” Her expression warmed. “You’re welcome.” She paused a beat. “So… you’re, um, also gay, then?”

“Technically, for me, the term is bisexual. But we do seem to be birds of a feather, yes.”

“Ah.” An awkward pause. Then she let out a nervous giggle as she pushed back a lock of her hair. “It’s funny, really. At the start of this year, I never thought we’d be this… open with each other.”

He smiled a little. “You’re right. Amamiya’s one thing, but I wouldn’t have imagined _we’d_ get this… friendly.”

“Oh? Is Ren that special to you?”

“Amamiya’s special, period, and you know it.”

“True.” She paused, gaze searching. “Do you...” She paused again, seeing him tense; then she shook her head. “No, never mind. On another note, I’m a little surprised it’s so rare for you to have people stick up for you. Don’t you have legions of adoring fans on your side?”

He sneered. “Oh, you mean the fans who turn on me the second I’m not perfect enough for them? Fuck them.”

Her eyes flew wide. “Akechi-kun!!”

“...But keep that sentiment between you and me.”

Makoto gawked a second longer; then she broke into laughter. “Fine. I will.” She half-turned towards the table, smiling at him. “Let’s get back to studying, then, all right?”

He smiled back. Strange. He’d planned just to curry favor with her, but now… he could sense the stirrings of a real bond between them. “All right.”


	6. This is My Fault

“Looks like the first one’s just inside,” said Crow, gesturing Joker and Noir closer to the swirling miasma at the end of a Mementos railway track. Once they’d gotten a decent look through the whorling darkness at the Shadow skulking deeper within, he leaned back and folded his arms over his white-clad chest. “So who’s going first? Noir?”

She and Joker leaned back too. Though he thought she might be eager to root out the untrustworthy from her late father’s company, she looked decidedly unenthusiastic. “I’m not comfortable going first. I can’t even question people in real life, let alone their Shadows,” she admitted. Her masked gaze went to Joker. “I’d rather have a lead I could follow first, if that’s all right?”

He nodded, then looked at him. “Crow. You go.”

Crow held back a smile. Joker’s decisiveness was always charming, and he enjoyed the implied trust. He nodded once and turned to head inside.

Except: “Wait.”

He looked over his shoulder. “What?”

“Tell me our objective first.”

That rubbed him the wrong way. If he was going to trust him to take point, why not trust him to remember the team objective? But then, _trust_ was something Joker had little reason to give him, so Crow kept his mouth shut and turned back around. When he had Joker’s heart, things would be different. He just had to look forward to then.

“We’re here to question Shadows of certain Okumura Foods board members in regards to the Tokyo conspiracy, while the others work on requests,” he recited, thinking briefly of Queen and the others, who were elsewhere in Mementos fulfilling requests to steal hearts from the so-called Phan-site. Everyone had agreed that if they were going to go to Mementos, they may as well be efficient about it. “There will be no fighting, stealing, or death. We’re simply going in to collect information.”

Joker nodded. “OK, good.”

And that was that. Crow glanced at Noir, who watched him unsmiling. “There is one thing...”

“Yeah?”

He looked back at Joker. “If you’re having me go first, I assume it’s because you want to know how I do things. Right?”

Joker nodded again.

“My Shadow-questioning methods can be a little… rough. I won’t kill anyone, I promise,” he added, because that felt like something that needed to be made explicit. “But it will probably look, ah, alarming at first blush. If that’s a problem, you might want to take the lead instead.”

He bowed his head without responding. Crow let him think it over. There hadn’t been a chance to talk about the details of questioning Shadows before now… or rather, he hadn’t wanted to go into the details with everyone present. Technically he wasn’t going into the details now. But there was only one thing Shadows universally respected, and experience had shown him that going in with even the slightest hesitation was a good way to get oneself nearly killed. If Joker had any sense, and Crow knew he did, he’d see that too.

So he smiled for real when Joker finally shook his head.

“You’re good,” he said. “We’ll watch.”

“All right,” he replied, and strode through the dark portal.

* * *

Noir watched Crow go, heart thumping with unease. She and Joker lurked just within the darkness, enough to hide them from view, but not so much that they couldn’t see the Shadow deeper within and how Crow approached it with back straight and gait smooth. His obnoxiously-princely Robin Hood outfit set her on edge, but then, was there anything about him that didn’t? It felt so long ago, that moment she thought maybe they could get along. After he functionally declared war over Joker’s love, that moment died a fiery death.

Speaking of whom, she flinched when Joker rested a hand on her shoulder, then relaxed and smiled up at him. He smiled in return, dark eyes reassuring behind his mask.

“It’ll be fine,” he murmured. “When all this is over, you’ll be glad we took care of this.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” she murmured back, slipping her hand on top of his. “I just have the jitters, that’s all. I expect Crow _is_ good at this, but—”

She almost missed it. The Shadow of the first board member addressed Crow with hostility. Without breaking stride, Crow drew his light saber-style sword, then launched himself forward. His blade pierced the Shadow’s shoulder, and the Shadow _screamed_ , jolting Noir and Joker to alarmed attention. Crow, without missing a beat, lashed out a kick and knocked the Shadow to the ground, then loomed over him.

“What’s your connection with Masayoshi Shido and the web of conspiracy he’s formed across Tokyo?” Crow demanded, voice carrying, tone eerily indifferent.

“M-M-Masayoshi Shido?!” the Shadow bellowed, more in fear than anger. “Who are you?! What do you want with me?!”

Crow stabbed him in the other shoulder. “Do not make me repeat myself.”

The Shadow screamed again. Noir flinched, but her heart pounded. That was the one who’d gotten all pompous and tried to argue that the marriage contract _had_ to be real. He’d talked down to her on many an occasion. His terror made a certain feeling tingle all over her. Noir squirmed and tried not to let it distract her.

“I-I understand! I understand! But I’m barely involved with him! It was Okumura-san who had the biggest connection!”

“Did you ever have the chance to request a mental shutdown?”

“H-how do you know about—fine! Fine!!” he yelped as Crow dug his blade in deeper. “I did!! But only once, and Okumura-san passed the request on for me!!”

“If you were ever a customer of Shido’s shutdown service, then there’s nothing ‘barely’ about your involvement with him,” Crow replied coldly. “And those who request assassins invite assassins in turn.”

“W-wait… Are you… you couldn’t… you couldn’t possibly be…!”

“Oh?” Blue flames scorched up Crow’s body, searing away his white uniform and red mask for his belts and stripes and face-covering helm, transforming his light saber into a jagged, rust-edged blade. “ _Couldn’t I_?”

The Shadow _screamed_. It was a scream beyond screaming: an aural manifestation of primal fear. Noir clutched Joker’s arm, breath hitching. She ought to be appalled. She ought to be horrified. And in a sense, she was.

By how much she was aroused. By _Crow_.

The Shadow didn’t so much break as shatter. After a minute of blubbering and begging for mercy, he spilled everything Crow asked him faster than seeds from a torn birdseed bag. It was about now that Crow switched on the malevolent glee, laughing and taunting and being creepy as hell. Noir clutched Joker’s arm harder as she bit her lip hard.

“Are you okay?” Joker murmured, skyrocketing her pulse.

“I-I’m okay,” she whispered back. “I’m just feeling a little… ill.”

“If you need to step out, do it. I’ll keep watch.”

She shook her head rapidly. “No, no, I couldn’t do that. But it’s just...” She trailed off, staring at Crow as he smashed a heel into one of the Shadow’s shoulder wounds, cackling like an anime villain. She shivered and struggled to keep her breathing under control. “Why do you like him?” she whispered instead, partly to distract herself, partly because she really wanted, _needed_ to know.

“I like everybody I’ve fought alongside,” Joker murmured.

Noir narrowed her eyes at him. “Even though he betrayed us?”

“That’s not fair. We all agreed to give him another chance.”

She lowered her gaze. The Shadow was sobbing brokenly now, occasionally answering Crow’s low-tone questions. She couldn’t hear their conversation from here, and she was afraid to give free rein to her imagination. “I just… can’t bring myself to like him,” she murmured with difficulty. “I can feel sorry for him, and I know he is trying to help us for real now, but… he’s a terrible person. Just watching him makes that clear all over again.”

Joker said nothing at first. She wondered guiltily if he’d noticed her little shivers and realized what that implied about her. If what Crow was doing made him a bad person, what did it make her for getting excited by it?

“I understand,” he murmured after a moment. “In the end, I can’t make you two resolve your differences. I can only encourage you to air them out, and help you work through them.”

Her eyes flicked down. “I’m sorry. I know you want us to get along.”

He rested a hand on the back of her neck and smiled at her, which sent a brand-new shiver down her spine like a lightning bolt. “I want you to be happy. For _us_ to be happy.”

“J-Joker...”

“Try giving him a piece of your mind. You bottle your feelings up too much for the sake of politeness and keeping the peace. It might help for you to just—come out and air your grudges. Even if you end up fighting over it, it’ll get everything out there.”

She gave him a slow smile. “You think that’ll work?” she said, but she thought, _You’re okay with me telling him off?_

He gave her a crooked smile in return. “Worked for me.”

Ah. She sighed. “You wanted to change your relationship for the better, though. And I know he wanted the same with you. I’m… not sure either of us want that for each other.”

Joker’s smile faded too. “…True. Things won’t change unless both of you want change.”

Noir pursed her lips and met his eyes. Though he hadn’t said anything judgmental, she thought she could see disappointment there. She bowed her head. “…It’s true I do want to give him a piece of my mind. I… could at least try that.”

“Good luck. Don’t get too out of hand, okay? And remember…” He stepped closer and slipped his arm around her back. “I’m here for you, Noir.”

She nearly stumbled into his chest, where she pressed her hands and flaming cheek. O-oh… This was… this was nice. So very, very nice… At first glance, Joker seemed like he’d be either the dark, brooding type or the mouthy, devil-may-care type, but he was actually so kind and caring… Her eyelashes drifted shut. It would be wonderful if she could stay in his arms forever.

So naturally, Crow then called out, “Enjoying yourselves?”

The bladed ice in his voice made Noir _leap_ back away from Joker. Joker let her go, arm hovering in the air for a second before he slipped his hands in his pockets and turned to Crow.

“Already done?” he asked.

Crow had swapped back to his Robin Hood form and was sheathing his sword—wholly unnecessarily, since all of them summoned their weapons as a function of will—as he walked back to them. At his back, the Shadow was curled up in a ball and sobbing quiet, broken tears. He was still in one piece, and looked to be in no danger of smoking away into nothing, but now that Joker had grounded her, it was still a disturbing sight.

“Yes, I—”

“What did you do to that Shadow?!” she demanded sharply, nerves making it come out much harsher than she’d intended. “Is he going to experience real-world trauma over this?!”

Crow flashed her an ugly sneer. “ _No_ , Noir. At worst he’ll have a few nightmares. And I warned you both from the start about my methods. I didn’t do any permanent damage, so he’ll recover just fine with time.”

Joker nodded. “Good work.”

Crow shot him a faint but sincere-looking smile. The difference in his expressions was like night and day. “Thank you.”

Noir clenched her hands and straightened her spine. _Murder queen pose,_ she told herself. _I won’t lose to him._

“What did you find out, then?” she asked coldly, lifting her chin to look down on him.

Back with the sneer. Crow gestured forward, and the three of them passed through the portal and left the Shadow behind. Once they were out in Mementos proper, Crow folded his arms and looked at them both. At least he had a civil look back on his face.

“I confirmed our list of names from yesterday’s meeting,” he said. To Noir, he nodded curtly. “The notes you took were an approximate 90% match, and the three you highlighted were indeed your father’s co-conspirators within the company. This particular Shadow also detailed some less savory deals their real-world self was involved in earlier this year, as well as ones both inside and outside the company and who were connected. For example, your fiancée was meant not just to be your father’s ticket into politics and Shido’s inner circle, but after your father’s death, he was also to be an easily controlled puppet once he married you and took over as CEO. In short, this Shadow’s self and those other two would run the company through him. That’s the real reason he was so insistent the contract was real; he knew perfectly well it didn’t exist.”

“Good to know,” Joker said with far more aplomb than Noir could have hoped to manage in that moment. “Anything else?”

Crow looked back at him. “It seems like Takakura-san wasn’t involved at all, and was in fact something of a thorn in Okumura-san’s side in terms of running his company like a galactic empire. It’s fortunate for him that he wasn’t more of a nuisance; apparently, Okumura-san was already considering requesting a mental shutdown for him shortly before his death.”

Noir dug her nails in her palms. How… how could he say such horrible things with such indifference? Like it didn’t even matter? Like he didn’t even _care_? And he expected any of them to think he’d turned over a new leaf?

“I see,” Joker was saying. “That’s good news, right, Noir?”

“Huh? Oh… Yes,” she murmured.

Tone limned with sarcasm, Crow added, “Is your delicate constitution perhaps getting the better of you?You seem unwell.”

“Do I? How astute! It’s almost like you’re a detective,” Noir clapped back.

His lips thinned as he met her glare with one of his own.

“Easy, easy,” Joker said, resting a hand on each of their shoulders. “We still have a lot to do. Noir, do you want me to go next?”

It was sweet of him to offer, and she suspected he was trying to give her a chance to have it out with Crow, but she shook her head. “No,” she said firmly. “I think I’ve got it now. I’d like to give it a try.” She bore another glare into Crow. “It can’t be too difficult to stab a defenseless Shadow repeatedly while cackling like a madman.”

“Power is the one thing Shadows respect most,” Crow snapped. “If you don’t immediately overwhelm one with a display of strength, then you’re inviting death!”

“And I’m sure—”

“ _Stop it._ ”

Noir snapped her jaw shut when Joker laid down that command like the crack of a whip. He leveled a flat glare at her and Crow in turn.

“Did you two forget what I said yesterday already?” he added, tone tight.

Noir and Crow shot each other a glance, then averted their eyes. Shame rose in a wave, and she floated upon it. She did remember, but…

“If you two have a problem with each other,” Joker continued, “let’s have it out. I don’t want to hear you two bickering all evening.”

And that actually stung Noir’s feelings. Joker had encouraged her earlier to tell Crow off, and now he was scolding her for it? Intellectually, she knew that what she was doing wasn’t what he meant, but emotionally, it was hard not to see it as him taking Crow’s side over hers. So:

“No, I’m fine,” she said, clipped. Breaking into a brisk stride forward. “Let’s get going to the next one.”

She kept her chin high and didn’t look back, and so didn’t see Joker and Crow watch her go.

* * *

This was proving harder than Joker thought it would be.

Of course, he never thought it was going to be _easy_. Not… not seriously, all braggadocio aside. But if things continued in this vein, he was going to have to take drastic action.

For the time being, he let Noir go, gaze lingering on her back as she marched off. Then he turned to Crow.

“What about you?” he said, keeping his tone neutral.

“I absolutely have a grievance to air,” Crow replied, tone as sharp as a scalpel. “I know what her personality is normally like, so I know it’s not just her way. Is there any need for her to pick all these fights with me? I’m doing my best to be cooperative, but it feels like—” His hands clenched. “Like nothing I do is good enough! She’s decided to hate me and that’s that!”

Joker’s mouth pulled to one side. Ah. “Are you saying she’d be wrong to?”

Crow flinched.

“I get it’s upsetting that she won’t acknowledge your efforts to be a better person. But that’s what it means for someone to not forgive you,” he continued. “You yourself said that was okay.”

“I… I did,” he said reluctantly, not meeting Joker’s eyes. “But this is more like… she’s deliberately trying to upset me. Am I wrong to _be_ upset in turn?”

“…No, I guess not.” He paused, then turned to hurry after Noir and gestured for Crow to join him. “Is it like this when you’re working with her with the Okumura Foods stuff?”

“Yes… though not as bad.”

Joker tugged at his gloves as he ran. He had a bad feeling about what the problem was.

The two of them caught up with Noir by the stairs down, the next Shadow being on another level. Together, the three of them made their way three floors down and over to the shadow portal to the corner where the next Shadow lurked. This time, Joker and Crow stayed behind while Noir, who nodded stiffly to Joker, went on ahead, gripping her ax with tense hands.

She didn’t have Crow’s smooth, unyielding confidence. When she started talking to the Shadow, it immediately got hostile, putting Noir on the verbal defensive. However, when it started threatening her, apparently she decided she was done, because she swung her ax around and chopped off the Shadow’s left arm at the elbow.

“Tell me what I want to know or the next blow won’t miss!!” she snarled over the Shadow’s screams, just before swinging at it again in what turned out to be a feint, then snapping a leg out in a kick to knock it to the floor like Crow had done. She _was_ a quick learner, and made up for her lack of experience with sheer, furious brutality.

Joker tugged at his collar. Damn, it was getting hot in here all over again.

“She’s not bad,” Crow remarked, keeping his voice low. “If she doesn’t keep herself in check, though, she might end up killing him by accident.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Joker murmured back. “To stop it from getting that far.”

“Hmmm…”

Joker glanced at him. “What’re you thinking?”

He shook his head. “Something mean-spirited. It’s better I don’t say it.”

Well. Okay. That was fair. “What do you think of Noir? You said before you didn’t hate her.”

“No, but I don’t like her, either. I don’t tend to like people who hate me.”

Yeah, that was legit. Joker returned his focus to Noir; she’d planted a boot on the Shadow’s chest and leaned her ax blade dangerously close to his neck. The Shadow was spilling his guts—only figuratively, thank god—as fast as he could. Maybe it was because he could sense her raw fury and thirst for blood that he cracked sooner than the last one did; maybe this one was just weaker-willed. Either way, at this rate, they’d be done pretty soon. That was good. Maybe Noir would feel better after venting her stress on this guy.

He glanced back at Crow. Crow watched Noir with narrowed eyes and folded arms, but blinked over at him as he caught his eye.

“What?”

“What do you think of _me_?” Joker murmured.

“W-what?”

Aww, he was getting flustered already. Joker kept his smile slight. “You said a lot of shit back in the cruise liner, but it’s more complicated than that, isn’t it? I want to hear the rest of what you feel.”

He coughed into one hand. “I-is this really the time for that?”

“Should I take that as you don’t want to say?”

“It’s… not that, but…”

“But what?” He drew closer, until the folds of his jacket brushed up against Crow’s coat. “When you shot my cognitive double, our bond grew stronger. I won’t let you say you didn’t notice. It was so powerful, even Mona felt it.”

Crow said nothing. From this distance, though, it was impossible to miss the way his breath quickened.

Should he press his luck…? No, better to give him a little space, he decided. Keeping his hands in his pockets, he added, “I know what it meant to _me_. But I want to hear what it meant to _you_.”

Crow met his eyes. Joker saw hesitation and hope therein. But then Crow glanced at Noir, and Joker followed his gaze.

She was panting as the Shadow smoked beneath her, both hands clutching her ax in a death-grip. The Shadow had taken some serious wounds—maybe serious enough that they needed to intervene.

“Bookmark that thought,” Joker murmured, then rushed in. Crow followed at his back.

Noir looked over her shoulder, then exhaled a long sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said. “I was at a loss on what to do next.”

“What’s wrong?” Joker asked.

Noir frowned down at the Shadow, who was missing some chunks aside from his hand. It glared up at them with golden eyes both angry and fearful.

“You didn’t dominate him well enough at the start,” Crow noted. “This is probably as far as you can go.”

Noir pursed her lips, but eased off of the Shadow.

“Y-you scum…!” it seethed. “You’ll pay for this. When Shido-san recovers—”

In one fluid motion, Crow drew his pistol and fired. The bullet clipped the Shadow’s ear and richocheted away harmlessly. The unholy light of infernal judgment in his gaze, he stated, “Corpses should remain ever silent.”

The Shadow made a shrill noise of absolute fear, then shut up. _Damn_ , that was hot.

“…And that’s about how you should do it,” Crow continued to him and Noir, demeanor pleasant, as he holstered his gun. “You started out fairly strong, but I’m guessing you slipped up somewhere and got flustered, and the Shadow reacted to that. Maintaining steady, consistent pressure is important.”

“Yes, of course,” Noir said sourly.

“Let’s take this outside,” Joker said. He looked down at the Shadow. “Should we treat his wounds first? It looks pretty bad. He isn’t going to bleed out, is he?”

“No, Shadows aren’t humans. They don’t have blood, bones, or internal organs,” Crow said. “You can take chunks out of them as Noir has, and as long as you haven’t done so much damage their self-perception collapses, which has obviously not happened here, if they perceive it as an injury that they _could_ survive, they _will_ survive. This one will live. We should leave now, though.”

The three were all for that, so they left the Shadow behind and left the vortex. Once on the other side, Noir dismissed her ax and leaned over, hands on her knees.

“Th-that was tougher than I thought it would be,” she admitted. “I had trouble after he started begging for mercy…”

“It’s fine,” Joker said. “What’d you find out?”

“Not very much… Essentially the same as Crow, but there’s a little more. It seems like only board members and above were privy to joining in on or even knowing about the conspiracy,” she replied, standing back up. “Anyone lower on the hierarchy might have contributed towards the unethical business practices of the company itself, but they weren’t aware of anything below the surface. So once we deal with these men… that should be it for us.”

“Good,” Joker said. “I’ll take care of the last one. Let’s get going.”

* * *

When Joker pulled a gun on the last Shadow and kicked it prone when it panicked, Crow reflected that there was something exciting about how he could commit vile acts with such poise and calm. Perhaps Noir didn’t agree, given how hard she was biting her lip, but he didn’t care what she thought. Imagine what kind of partners he and Joker would make if they teamed up…!

Though, no, no, he shouldn’t think of it like that. He shook his head, then side-eyed Noir. He’d wanted to be rivals and friends with Joker, but right now, she had more of a rivalry with him than he ever had, though there was nothing friendly about it. The way Joker had encouraged her to cozy up to him earlier had sent spikes of jealousy skewering his insides, but later he’d asked him about… the nature of their bond… What did he mean when he said he knew what it meant to him? What did he want to hear when he asked what it meant to Crow? Had he meant it all in a platonic manner, or what is Noir who he’d been comforting as a friend? Who, if either of them, did he have feelings for? Or was Crow the one reading into things that weren’t actually there?

He glowered at the floor. He had no intention of losing to Noir, but—if only he could get a better read on Joker’s thoughts. Part of what had attracted him to him in the first place was how impenetrable he could be; he might have only played a detective on television, but he never could resist a mystery. Right now, though, it would go a lot towards… well, everything.

Everything that still mattered, anyway.

“Crow?”

Crow glanced at Noir. She was still staring at Joker, but her expression had set with a grim sort of determination. “Yes?”

“The last Shadow… he really will survive, right? He’ll be all right?”

He rolled his eyes. Hadn’t she listened to a word of his explanation? “Yes.”

“I see.” She paused. Then she fixed her stare on him. “Crow?”

“What?”

“What is it like to kill someone?”

Taken by surprise, Crow took a step back from her. So she’d asked that other question to lead into this? His frown deepened. “Why do you ask?”

“Who else would know?”

“No, I—” Dammit. “I mean, why do you want to know?” He forced a smirk. “Are you interested in getting in on the business?”

Noir flexed a fist like she was severely tempted to lay him out again. “I was just wondering,” she said coldly, “if you felt anything at all when you murdered my father.”

Crow shut his eyes and counted to five. Right. Of course it was about that. Right. He was the one who’d done something unforgivable to her… He couldn’t—shouldn’t—taunt her; not on this subject. Reeling himself in, he adopted a sufficiently grave expression. “Telling you that wouldn’t do you any good,” he murmured. “For your own sake, you’re better off not knowing.”

“Which? What it’s like to kill? Or if you felt anything when you killed my father?”

_Both, you insufferable woman._ “I mostly meant the former...”

“And the latter?”

He sighed and glanced away, trying to put a lid on his bubbling frustration. “That wouldn’t do you any good, either. Let’s say for a moment that I felt nothing but the purest self-disgust during the act, and that I’ve been wracked with guilt about it every day since. What would that change?” He met her eyes. “Would it make any difference in how you feel about me?”

That seemed to hit home. Noir lowered her gaze and said nothing.

Crow waited a moment just to be sure. Then he folded his arms and looked at Joker. Despite having used significantly less violence than either him or Noir, Joker seemed to have the situation completely under control. Just as he’d expect. It was another aspect of Joker’s that Crow both admired and hated.

“Why are you so upset about your father’s death, anyway?” he asked. “He treated you like garbage. If I were you, I’d be relieved he’s gone.”

Noir shot him a glare so sharp, if it were an ax, it would’ve taken his head off. “Father wasn’t always like that. If you’d just left him alone, his heart would have changed, and he would have gone back to the person he used to be.”

Crow smirked anew, but there was no humor in it. “Is that what you think? That if only I hadn’t killed him, your nice papa would have returned to you?”

“Yes. That _is_ what I think, _Crow_.”

He shook his head. “That’s just wishful thinking, _Noir_. Even if Kunikazu Okumura were still alive, you still wouldn’t have your father back.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means a change of heart is, in other words, the transformation of a person into someone completely different.” He gripped his arms as he scowled. “That might be wonderful for the general public that suffered at their hands, but for those who knew them personally, there’s no satisfaction. Your ‘kind, loving’ father was already dead by the time his desires grew twisted enough to form a Palace. I merely made it official.”

“How dare you?” Noir growled. “Even if that’s true, I’d still have more of a relationship with him than I do now if he were alive. You had no right to kill him and take him away from me!”

His heart lurched, or perhaps his stomach, as he stared at her. Crow knew he shouldn’t be arguing with her on this point—he was in the wrong, end of discussion, and any attempt to say anything else would just make him look bad—but that just now made an unexpected emotion surge within him:

Jealousy.

“How…?” he rasped, bowing his head. “How can you love a man like that? He didn’t even see you as a person. You were just a bargaining tool to him! Why do you defend him so passionately?”

“Father wasn’t always like that! He only changed over the last few years! Before that…” Pain threaded and broke through the anger in her expression. “Before that, we were so close. As a CEO and a single father, he was extremely busy, but he always took the time to spend with me and involve me in his life. I adored him, and he doted on me. He did all he could to make me happy, and he always comforted me when I was lonely or sad, even though he must have felt just as badly after Mother passed away. The fact that he changed for the worse later doesn’t erase the love we shared.” She lanced him with another glare, that pain and anger sharpening it into a blade. “But perhaps it’s unreasonable of me to expect you to understand. _Your_ father never loved you at all. How sad.”

That blow struck home, impaling Crow on the pike of his insecurities, and it knocked the wind out of him. _P_ _erhaps we could have had a different relationship;_ _b_ _een as a father and son should…_ Shido’s words resonated through his head. Regaining his hostility, he grit his teeth, clenched his fists, and snarled hoarsely, “Shut up, you self-righteous piece of shit!! You think you’re better than me because Daddy spoiled you when you were little?! He was just as much of a murderer as I am, so you can get off your fucking high horse!”

“Wha—?!”

“ _Oh_ , did you never think of that?” he sneered. “What do you think it means to request a mental shutdown? Your father had over a dozen people killed so he could claw his way to the top!”

“A dozen people that _you_ killed!!” she snapped.

But he saw the desperation behind her mask and pounced: “Yeah, I killed them! I killed them because _your father wanted them dead_!! You think it makes a difference he didn’t dirty his hands personally?! It still happened because that’s what _your_ father wanted!”

She recoiled, but only for a second. “It never would have happened if you and _your_ father hadn’t been there! You’re the ones who tempted him!”

“Tempted him? _Tempted_ him?” he echoed in outrage. “No one put a gun to his head and made him put in shutdown requests! We made a service available and he chose to take advantage of it! If we hadn’t been there, he’d just have found a different, equally immoral way to crush his rivals!”

“A ‘service’?! Is that what you call mass murder? A SERVICE?! You really are scum among scum, Crow! The world would be better off without you!!”

“Don’t you dare look down on me! DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!!” he screamed. “You wanna know what, Noir?! Your father _deserved_ to die! I don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt about it! I did this world a _service_ by killing him, and you and your rotten company should be THANKING me on bent knee!!”

“ _Take that back, you_ _bastard!!_ ”

“MAKE ME!”

Noir ripped off her mask, so Crow did too. Above them, as those masks burned up in blue flame, their respective Personas shattered into existence, Milady flaring her skirts to aim the guns hidden underneath at Crow, Loki cackling as his claws curled around burgeoning flame to scorch Noir.

In unison, the two directed their wills and howled, “PERSONAAAAA!”

Milady and Loki opened fire. Bullets screamed, Agidynes sailed, and they met at the center between Noir and Crow to explode—on Joker and the Persona Siegfried he’d summoned to soak their attacks. Siegfried’s immunity to physical attacks protected him completely from Milady’s barrage, but he had no such protection against fire, so Loki’s Agidyne enveloped him in a massive conflagration. Joker screamed as his Persona soaked the attack, passing on the damage as psychological, and vanished in a smash of blue light; then he dropped to one knee.

Seeing this, Crow’s heart leaped into his throat. “Joker!!” he shouted, now in fear and worry, as he sprinted over to his side. Noir did likewise, and they each reached their leader and crouched next to him at the same time.

“Joker, are you all right?!” Noir gasped on his right. “I’m so sorry, I never meant for this to—”

Crow babbled on his left, “How could you jump out in the middle like that, I didn’t want to—”

“Stop,” Joker commanded. Both of them shut up, hands falling away from his shoulders. “Don’t lie to me with your ‘I didn’t mean it’ or ‘I didn’t want this.’ You were both out for blood. Am I wrong?”

Crow and Noir looked away in opposite directions, shame burning like acid reflux.

Joker waited a moment; then he eased himself upright, hands out for balance. Noir and Crow each took one, and he let them help him up. When they were all on their feet, he sighed. “I’ve finished questioning the Shadow. Let’s go.”

Crow and Noir didn’t argue, though Crow did glance towards the back of the vortex hole. The Shadow had retreated all the way to the back and was glowering at the three. Leaving before it decided to attack the three while they were distracted was wise, so they stepped through the portal into Mementos proper. From there, the three walked to the stairway platform leading up, where Joker stopped them and sat, then gestured for Crow and Noir to join him. They both did so, then suffered through a moment of intensely awkward silence.

Finally, Joker murmured, “This is my fault. I failed you both as your leader.”

“That’s not—” Crow and Noir both started to protest. Their eyes met across Joker’s shoulders, and they both fell silent as they looked away.

“It _is_ my failure. I paired you two up for selfish reasons.” He looked back and forth between the two. “I consider both of you important friends. I thought if I had you two work together in the real _and_ cognitive worlds, you’d start to get along.” He rubbed his forehead. “Instead, you tried to kill each other in the middle of a mission.”

Noir winced. Crow grimaced. Neither spoke.

“I told you both if you have a problem to let me know so I can help you work through it. Why aren’t you doing that?” When silence met his question, Joker sighed. “So it _is_ my fault. Okay. I’ll make it right, then.” He stood up and faced them. “Starting now, the two of you—”

“Wait,” Crow interrupted, jumping to his feet. “You don’t have to blame yourself for this, Joker. It’s my fault. I let my anger get the better of me.”

“No, it’s my fault,” Noir insisted, standing. “I said yesterday that I would stop lashing out and I didn’t. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Joker rubbed his neck. “I _did_ encourage you to air your bad laundry with him...”

She shook her head. “No, I went too far and said things I shouldn’t have. I didn’t want to resolve anything; I just wanted to make him hurt. I’m… I’m sorry, Crow.” And she dipped into a deep bow from the waist to him.

“O-oh,” Crow uttered, put on the back foot. “I...” He shot a glance at Joker, then bowed back to her. “I-I’m also sorry. I was also out of line.”

They both lingered in that pose for a moment; then they rose, Noir before Crow. However, neither of them met the other’s eye, instead glancing over towards Joker. However, if she sought his approval much as he did, they were both disappointed; Joker looked back at them unsmiling.

“Well,” he said. “I’m glad you two apologized to each other without me having to make you, but I hope you both realize I’m not gonna let you sweep things under the rug, either.” He slipped his hands into his pockets. “But let’s leave it at that for tonight. The mission’s done, and you both need time to cool off. We’ll get together tomorrow and talk things over. Okay?”

“...Okay,” Noir murmured.

Crow nodded. “Mm.”

Joker turned sharply, coat flapping behind him. “Then let’s meet up with the others.”

He strode into the murky railways of Mementos. Crow and Noir hurried after.

* * *

The mood wasn’t any better by the time the split teams reunited and returned to the top of Mementos. Joker was inexpressive, and Crow and Noir were both uncomfortably silent. For good or ill, Skull made more than enough noise for all of them—good because he distracted the others, ill because Crow had rapidly developed a pounding headache and his painkillers were in his briefcase, which he wouldn’t get back until they got the hell out of here. Soon, though. For the moment, he sucked it up and kept quiet.

While Queen reported to Joker about the hearts they’d changed, Skull gave cheerfully boisterous re-enactments of the fights while Oracle provided special effect noises and Fox nodded along. Panther might have joined in if Mona hadn’t tugged at her ankle and pulled her away to a corner for them to talk; Crow glanced their way, but found himself uninterested in whatever they discussed. After everything, he wanted nothing more than to go home and take a long bath.

“...so overall, while we did have some trouble with a couple fights, we managed to successfully complete all outstanding requests,” Queen concluded. She held out a fistful of trinkets, five in all. “Here’s the Treasures we acquired.”

“Thanks,” Joker said, accepting them.

“How’d it go with you three?” she added, looking from him to Crow and Noir. “Did you find out what you needed to?”

“Yeah,” Joker said, expression unchanging.

“No problems with the Shadows?”

“Nope.”

“...No problems with the team?”

Joker said nothing.

Queen gave him a long look, then regarded Crow and Noir anew. They both avoided her stare. That awkward silence started to infect the group, until Skull shouted and thumped a fist in his palm.

“Hey, come to think of it, Crow! This’s the first time you’ve fought with us for real, ain’t it?”

Ugh. The siren call of painkillers was growing more and more insistent. “Oh, uh… yes?”

Skull slung an arm around his shoulders, grinning. “Let’s go out for ramen to celebrate! My treat!”

Crow gave him a blank stare. “Ah… ramen?”

“Yeah, I know this great place over in Ogikubo! Joker’s been with, he knows where I mean!”

Joker nodded, hands in his pockets. “It’s fantastic.”

“Ain’t it?! So you up for it, Crow?” Skull continued. He paused a beat; then his cheer faded into concern. “Wait, don’t tell me you don’t like ramen or somethin’?”

“Oh, no, it’s not that…” He hesitated. Exhausted and in pain as he was, he had to eat at some point. This headache might even be a result of needing to eat and drink; when did he do that last? And he may as well score points with _someone_ in the group while he was at it. After the earlier debacle, he needed it. Crow thus nodded. “Thank you. I’ll take you up on your invitation.”

“That’s the way to go!” Brightening, he clapped him on the shoulder, then beamed at the group. “Anyone else wanna come with? It’s the best ramen you’ve ever had, trust me!”

“No thank you… I’m a bit tired,” Noir murmured, eyes downcast. “I hope you have a nice time, though.”

“Oh, sure. Take care on your way… uh.” Skull watched her as she left for the stairs out of Mementos mid-sentence. “She _does_ seem worn out, huh? Did somethin’ happen?”

Crow said nothing.

Joker watched her go too, one side of his mouth pulling down. Then he looked at the others. “Queen, would you mind seeing her to the train? Please.”

“Me? I don’t mind, but...” Queen paused, then looked from Joker to Crow, who was studiously avoiding anyone’s eyes. Then she pursed her lips in thought and nodded. “All right. Oracle, why don’t you come along?”

“What, me too? Uhhhh okay,” Oracle said, then followed her out at a jog.

“Ramen, hmm...” Fox mused as the two left. “It sounds good on a cold night like this, but I don’t think I have enough for dinner _and_ train fare...”

“Aw c’mon, don’t be like that!” Skull complained. “I’ll treat you too, how ‘bout that?”

“Truly? Then I happily accept!” Flowers all but bloomed over Fox’s head. “Indeed, the greatest treasure in life is generous friends.”

Skull made a face. “Just so you guys know, I’m not treatin’ anyone else, all right? I’m not made of money, here.”

Joker chuckled. “I’ll take care of Fox for y—”

“HOLD IT!” Panther roared, standing up then, planting her hands on her hips. The others stared at her while Mona slunk guiltily around her ankles. “Leader, I’ve got a bone to pick with you!”

Joker blinked. “Me? Why?”

“Never you mind that!” She marched over to him and grabbed him by the ear. “But you and me are gonna have a Talk, right now!”

“...Like, right _now_ right now, or—OW!” he yelped, flailing as Panther yanked him around towards the exit.

She waved jauntily with a bright smile at the others. “Don’t mind us, boys! Have fun at dinner!” she chirped. Then she strode out of Mementos, dragging Joker in her wake.

“W-wait, Lady Panther, this isn’t what I—ohhhh,” Mona moaned, then chased after them.

Silence filled their absence. Presently, Crow coughed into a fist.

“Shouldn’t we go after them?” he wondered.

“...Nah. Nah,” Skull decided. “Whatever Panther’s on the warpath about, jumpin’ on that grenade’ll just make it worse. Knowing Joker, he’ll talk his way out of it.”

“This is likely,” Fox agreed.

Crow considered this for a second. Then he nodded. He’d worry about it _after_ he’d knocked back some pain pills. “After you, then.”


	7. A Real Live Love Triangle!

Haru sighed as she settled onto her seat and scooted in towards the table. Normally she’d be delighted to have friends over in her room for tea and snacks, but after her fight with Akechi earlier, she was barely in the mood for anything. “Thank you for walking home with me, Mako-chan, Futaba-chan. I’m sorry I’m not very good company right now.”

“It’s all right,” Makoto reassured her, curling her hand around her teacup. “Thank _you_ for inviting us over.”

Futaba, meanwhile, crawled over her seat in every direction, eyes darting towards each new decoration she spotted. “Ooooh! There’s so much pink! This is the girliest room I’ve ever seen!” she declared in awe.

Haru couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you.”

“It _does_ have an air of delicate femininity, doesn’t it?” Makoto remarked. “My room is so austere in comparison. Maybe sometime I could have you come by and give me decorating tips, Haru-chan?”

“Heehee! I’d love to, Mako-chan.”

She smiled too as she took a sip. “You seem a little happier already. I’m glad.”

Haru didn’t stop smiling, but her gaze did dip to the table. “...Thank you. You’re both very sweet to try to cheer me up.”

Futaba clambered around, pulled her feet onto her chair, and grabbed a cookie. “Lemme guess. Aketchy was a dumb jerk and said something awful?”

She sighed. “Yes… but I’m ashamed to admit that I started it.”

Makoto set down her teacup. “What happened?”

So Haru told them—not all the excruciating details, but a general outline of what went on during the mission. Makoto listened without interrupting, save to indicate she was still listening, while Futaba chewed her cookie with an intensifying vengeance.

“He deserved it,” she declared when she was done. “I _knew_ he wasn’t sorry.”

Makoto pursed her lips. “Has he been like that while working with you in regards to Okumura Foods?”

“No… I wouldn’t call him pleasant, exactly, but he’s been largely polite and helpful,” she said reluctantly. “But… Oh, this is terrible to say. But every time I look at him, I remember everything he’s done and all he put us through, and I lash out.”

“That seems natural to me,” Makoto said. “Of course you’d be upset.”

Haru shook his head. “No, it’s not just that. It’s because he’s an easy target. Since he murdered my father, and he’s at least claiming to be penitent, if I say terrible things to him, he has to put up with them or he’s automatically in the wrong. And… what I said today really did cross the line. It’s no wonder he snapped and lashed back.”

“You apologized to him, though, right?” Makoto said. “And he apologized back.”

“Yes… but I don’t think either of us really meant it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because…” Haru hesitated, then bit her lip. One of the things she’d left out was how Ren figured into things precisely. She looked between Makoto and Futaba. “If I tell you two something, do you promise to keep it a secret?”

Makoto nodded. “I promise.”

“Promise,” Futaba echoed around a mouthful of crumbs.

“Then…” She lowered her gaze to her teacup. “The truth is… I like Ren.” She looked up at her friends. “…and so does Akechi-kun.”

“Oh,” Makoto said. Then: “ _Oh_. OH! O-oh my.”

Futaba leaned forward, eyes sparkling. “Oooooh!! A real live love triangle!”

Haru grimaced. “Please don’t sound so excited about it. It’s been the cause of a lot of stress.”

“Oh. S-sorry.”

She shook her head and pushed her curls back. “I told Akechi-kun I wouldn’t lose to him… and he responded to me in kind. I only really apologized to him because Ren was so upset about our fight, and I’m nearly certain he feels the same way.” Her lashes drooped. “Neither of us wants to risk losing him to the other.”

“Have you talked to Ren about this?” Makoto asked.

Haru shook her head. “I… I’m afraid to.”

“Why?”

“Because…” She squeezed her hands together. “Because… I suspect the one Ren loves is him.”

“No way,” Futaba declared. “Ren has better taste than that.”

Makoto gave Futaba a brief side-eye, then focused back on Haru. “Why do you think that?”

“It’s just… that night in Shido-san’s Palace, when we fought Akechi-kun… Ren risked his life to save him. And then—I was standing right next to him, so I saw it—when Akechi-kun collapsed, and Ren caught him, he had the most tender look on his face… like he couldn’t be happier to have him in his arms.”

Her friends considered this. Finally, Futaba offered, “Yeah, that sounds pretty gay.”

Makoto coughed into a fist. “You never know. You might have been misreading it,” she offered, taking another sip. “Ren treasures his friends. I think he would’ve looked just as happy if it’d been you or me in his arms.”

“True. Ren is _su_ _uu_ _per_ bend-over-backwards for us. He’s practically a video game protagonist,” Futaba said. “Sometimes he can be sassy, but, I mean… I know he’s done a lot for me. Way more than I think most people would.”

Makoto nodded. “Likewise. He was… well…” She blushed, scratching her cheek. “He agreed to be my ‘training wheels’ boyfriend for a few weeks, ages ago. And when I…” She cleared her throat. “When I realized I, um, actually prefer girls, he just nodded and said he was happy for me.”

“Oh!” Haru uttered, feeling her face heat too. “O-oh, I see.”

Futaba snorted and broke into a broad grin. “Bwahahahahaa! Ren turned you gay!”

“He didn’t _turn me_ gay, I was already like that,” Makoto protested, blush deepening. “He just helped me realize it.”

“That’s the same thing!! Ahahaha, what a slam dunk!”

Relaxing, Haru broke into giggles too.

“L-look, the point is, Ren would do near anything for his inner circle, and for good or ill, Akechi-kun is part of it,” Makoto said hotly. “When he came back to Leblanc and threatened us, Ren put him in line but also offered him a place back, and that’s simply because he cares about him.”

“Meh. I don’t get why.” Futaba frowned, grabbed another cookie, and dipped it into her tea. “The guy would’ve murdered him if we hadn’t managed to put together the ultimate scam. There’s lines and Aketchy jumped _waaaaay_ over it, y’know?”

“You really don’t get why?” Makoto said, eyebrows arching in surprise. “Weren’t you and Ren the first ones Akechi-kun talked to about his mother?”

“Oh… well… I guess that’s a thing, yeah. Even I felt sorry for him when I heard that,” Futaba said lamely. She shook her head. “But wait, that’s got nothing to do with Ren crushing on him or not!”

“I don’t know,” Haru murmured, picking up her teacup and cradling it. “Perhaps it’s just my imagination, since I only heard about this after the fact, but I feel like Ren’s attitude towards him changed after that point.”

Fubata sucked on her cookie in thought. After a moment, she pulled it into her mouth with her lips and teeth. “Huh. Actually, you might be right.”

“Come to think of it, do we know _anything_ about Ren’s relationship with his own parents, or anyone else from his hometown?” Makoto wondered. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk about them. The most I know about his past is… well, his wrongful arrest.”

“I know a bunch of stuff,” Futaba offered. “His birthday, his blood type, his parents and what they do, where he went to school, his old hobbies and clubs and stuff.”

Haru smiled, a bit rueful but largely sincere. “That’s Ren’s ‘little sister’ for you. It must be easier to open up to someone he thinks of as family.”

“What? Nah, I just Smoogled most of it an’ hacked the rest.”

Makoto and Haru sighed in unison.

“Anyway, based on what I read, he doesn’t get along so great with his parents,” Futaba continued. “So. Yeah, I could see Ren hearing about Akechi’s shitty dad and going, ‘Oh shit, I relate,’ and then starting to like him.”

Haru nodded, lips pursed. “I had a suspicion. I know I haven’t been with the group long, but when I first joined, Ren seemed like he really didn’t like Akechi-kun at all. But at some point, he seemed to grow very fond of him very rapidly. That must have been the catalyst.”

“Hey, ‘s’not like you don’t have a shitty dad either!” Futaba said bracingly. “You’ve got just as much in common!”

Haru winced.

“Futaba… Maybe you could have phrased that a little better?” Makoto suggested.

“O-oh. Right. Um, s-sorry.” She shook her head like a wet dog. “The point! Being!! If you don’t wanna lose to Aketchy, you should just come out and tell Ren you like him!”

Haru felt her face heat. “I-I couldn’t simply come out and _say_ that!”

“C’monnn! Are you the leading lady or some random NPC?!”

While the specific meaning was beyond Haru, she got the spirit of it all right. “You have a point… I think,” she admitted. “But I… oh, I don’t know how I’d even bring it up.”

“Have fun watching Ren smooch your dad’s killer, then.”

“ _Futaba_!” Makoto uttered, scandalized.

But the heat that rose in Haru went beyond embarrassment or even fury. It was easy to imagine Ren and Akechi touching each other, and it made her want to break something out of… She sucked in a sharp breath and held it. Out of jealousy…? She took a deep breath, patted her cheeks, and sat up rigidly straight.

“Y-you’re right,” she stated, though inside her feelings remained turbulent. “I swore I wouldn’t lose to Akechi-kun. If Ren really does have feelings for him, I can’t afford to be timid.” She clutched her hands to her chest. “Now that I think on it, Ren tried to arrange an outing with me for my birthday. That was just before Akechi-kun returned with news about Shido-san, so we had to cancel. But maybe I could ask Ren about rescheduling and use it as an opportunity!”

Futaba pumped a fist. “That’s the spirit! Seduce that Ren! Punch out that Aketchy!”

“You probably shouldn’t punch him out again,” Makoto said wryly.

“You _totally_ should,” Futaba said. “It was awesome.”

Haru giggled, partly out of satisfaction, partly out of nerves. The next moment, though, she furrowed her brows in thought. “May I ask you something, Futaba-chan? Do you dislike Akechi-kun as much as you act like you do? I would think the answer is ‘yes,’ but you seemed genuinely sympathetic to him during our battle, so…”

Futaba’s energy waned as she stared over her knees at her tea. “I mean… I dunno,” she mumbled. “I wasn’t lying or anything when I said I got how he felt, but it’s like, we were all on an emotional high or whatever then. Now we’re all back in the real world, and Mom’s still dead and it’s still his fault.” She hugged her legs and leaned her chin on them. “But then it’s also like, he wouldn’t have killed her if that bastard Shido hadn’t told him to, right? And then I’m like, I wanted to get revenge, too; maybe I’m too hard on him… But then I remember how f-fucked up I was over it for two years, and maybe Shido told him to but he’s still the one who went through with it, which means they’re _both_ who I want revenge on, and we KO’ed Shido but Aketchy’s still doing whatever he wants, and then I hate him all over again. So. Yeah. I dunno. I kinda do and I kinda don’t.”

“I know what you mean,” Haru said, sympathetic. “In that case, Futaba-chan, how do you feel about him being part of the group?”

“I don’t like it,” she replied decisively. “I know what I said about starting over anytime, but I don’t actually wanna _be_ there for it.” Growing anger made her voice tremble. “ _I_ was here first! _I_ never screwed over the Phantom Thieves! W-why do _I_ have to put up with Aketchy shoving his him-ness in my face?”

“I feel the same way,” Haru murmured. “I’m not entirely unsympathetic towards Akechi-kun and his circumstances, but… I feel like I would be much more sympathetic if he weren’t here.”

“Yeah! Like… go do your fake detective thing back at the hole you crawled out of! Stop coming by Leblanc and making it weird for us!”

“No, no, I mean—” She hesitated. “I mean if he weren’t _here_. In this world.”

A long, awful pause stretched out. “S-so… you mean...”

“I mean I wish he were dead. That he’d died in Shido-san’s Palace.” She stared at her lap. “Isn’t that awful…? I know it’s an appalling thing to think. But that way, he could be a sad memory that we’d all feel sorry for, and then could put behind us and never have to deal with again.”

“W-woah. Um. That’s.” Futaba paused. “That’s k-kind of… I dunno if it’s cold or intense…”

Makoto’s visible shock indicated she agreed. “I… think I understand why you’d feel that way,” she said diplomatically all the same. “When my father, who was a policeman, died in the line of duty, I was so angry at his killer. If that turned out to be someone I actually _knew…_ ”

Futaba squirmed in her seat. “I-I don’t know. That’s you two, I guess, but me… I don’t want him _dead_. Just… not in my life. M-maybe that’s kinda the same thing for you, Haru…”

Makoto sighed. “It’s very complicated, isn’t it. No wonder you’ve been so stressed out.”

Haru made a vague noise of agreement and nodded. As terrible as that confession was, there was one more aspect of it that she didn’t dare share: if Akechi were dead, that meant her life would be so much easier. She could simply love Ren without trying to sort through those feelings on top of her grotesque, growing attraction to her father’s murderer.

“For what it’s worth,” Makoto added, “I personally do think he’s penitent. He didn’t say it explicitly, but given how Ren phrased his invitation back, and how Akechi-kun responded to it… and how he looked at you two before he accepted.”

Haru shook her head. “But he said he wasn’t guilty at all about killing Father.”

“Then maybe that means what he’s guilty about is killing Futaba-chan’s mom,” Makoto said. “Or maybe he didn’t mean what he told you, and he only said it because he was mad.”

“I get what you’re getting at,” Futaba muttered, “but that doesn’t really make him look better.”

“Well… no,” she admitted. “I don’t think Akechi-kun can make up for what he’s done so easily. Helping us take out Shido’s conspiracy for good is just his first step. But… he’s still starting out. I think it’s natural that he might stumble and make missteps.”

Haru blinked at her. “You seem awfully lenient towards him.”

“You think so?” Makoto grimaced. “To tell the truth, I learned yesterday that Sis is his legal guardian, but she basically left him to fend for himself. If she’d taken him in and looked after him properly, maybe he’d be in a better place now. Plus… if she’s his guardian, that makes us something like siblings… I guess. So now I feel responsible for him, too.”

Haru smiled. “Your big sister mode has been activated, then?”

Makoto smiled back ruefully. “You may be right.” Her smile faded. “Of course, he has to take responsibility for his crimes. But it must be incredibly daunting to do so with no help or support. I’d like to be in his corner and help him become a better person.”

She flicked her gaze down. “…Is that why you chased after me?”

“Not exactly. It is part of it, but Ren also asked me to.”

“Oh!” She blinked rapidly, wide-eyed. “He… he really did?”

She nodded.

“I just tagged along ‘cuz Mako asked me to,” Futaba offered.

Haru laughed a little. “I’m glad you did. Both of you, really. I feel a bit better after talking things through.” She sipped her tea, then set the cup down. “As thanks, would you two mind if I showed you around the house?”

“Not at all,” Makoto said, standing up.

“Imma just take this entire plate of cookies with me,” Futaba said, and then did exactly that.

Haru giggled, affection bubbling inside her. She really did feel better now. Perhaps having fun with friends was just what she needed to work her way out of her dour mood.

* * *

“ _Don’t_ try to worm your way out of this, Ren Amamiya!!” Ann barked, arms akimbo, as she glared down at Ren out on the sidewalk a block or two away from the train station. For someone maybe half a foot shorter than him, she did an impressive loom. “You’re not getting away with _this_ kind of heart-stealing!”

“I’m not, I’m not,” he replied, holding both hands up defensively as he leaned away from her. “I’m just asking if we can sit down somewhere, have a drink, and talk about this rationally.”

“What’s rational about you _two-timing_?!”

“I-it’s a big misunderstanding… If you hear me out, I promise I’ll explain everything.”

“What’s there to explain?!” She thrust a finger in his face. “You’re leading on Haru-chan and Akechi-kun! Morgana told me all about it!”

Morgana cringed behind Ann’s ankles when Ren shot him a scowl. “I-I was just trying to get advice from Lady Ann for you...” he offered meekly.

“And it’s a good thing he did, because how dare you do this to Haru-chan!” Ann snapped. “Even Akechi-kun deserves better than that! How could you?!”

Ren’s jaw set. Then he slipped his hands in his pockets and stood up. “Ann. Do you trust me?”

This put her off her tempo. “What?”

“After all we’ve been through, do you really think I’m that kind of person?”

She puffed her cheeks out at him, eyes radiating suspicion; a couple heartbeats later, she relented. “Well… No. It doesn’t sound like you. But it still sounds shady as hell!!”

“Please. Let me explain. I promise it’s not what you think it is. And if it is, you have full permission to do whatever you want to me in punishment.”

Ann folded her arms and tapped a foot in thought, still frowning.

“…and I’ll buy you cake,” he added.

“Oh, fine,” she said, as if that hadn’t immediately won her over. “There’s a café a few blocks from here that has good cake. Let’s go there. But this _better_ be good, mister.”

Ren nodded. Then he glanced down at Morgana. “You’d better come, too. I don’t want there to be any more misunderstandings.”

Morgana’s ears flattened. “S-sorry…”

So Ren scooped Morgana into his bag and walked with Ann to the café in question, passing the train station along the way. As they went, he glanced down the entrance for Akechi, Ryuji, and Yusuke, but they must have already grabbed a train to Ogikubo. That was fine. He didn’t want even a chance for this conversation to be overheard, anyway.

Once he’d ordered uji matcha cake and bubble tea for Ann, coffee for himself, and set aside the cream for Morgana, Ren put his thoughts in order.

“First things first,” he said. “What exactly did Morgana tell you?”

Mouth already stuffed with a forkful of cream, Ann said, “He wanted to know if it was really true that it was okay for someone to chase after two people at once. I asked him who told him that, and he tried to be evasive, but eventually he admitted you. Then he said that you were trying to date Haru-chan and Akechi-kun at the same time.” She slurped her tea. “And now here we are. So! How is that not two-timing?”

Ren rubbed his forehead. “Just checking, but do you know what polyamory is?”

“What? Well, yeah, it’s when you fall in love with and date more than—oh. Ohhhhhh,” she breathed. “Morgana, you didn’t say anything about _that_!”

“I said it just as Ren described it!” Morgana protested, head sinking halfway below the table.

“True,” she said, shooting Ren a narrow-eyed frown. “It’s not polyamory if you’re the only one who knows what you’re aiming for. If you haven’t leveled with Haru-chan and Akechi-kun so they can have their own say in things, then it’s not fair to either of them.”

Ren held up a hand. “I intend to. But it’s too early right now. I’m trying to ease them both into the idea first so they don’t reject it out of hand because of how they feel about each other.”

Ann leveled an unimpressed look at him. “Shouldn’t that be a sign you shouldn’t be trying to mess around?”

“I’m not trying to mess around. Honestly.”

“Okay, then how’ve you tried easing them into the idea so far?”

“Uh… well, before that, I’m trying to get them to not get along so badly…”

“Uh huh. And how’s that going?”

Ren grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not great.”

Ann sighed. “I had a feeling. They both seemed upset when we all got back together today.” She ate another bite of cake. “What exactly happened, anyway?”

“They kind of attacked each other. With their Personas.”

Morgana sprang onto the table. “ _What_?!”

Ann meanwhile choked, coughed, thumped her chest, and finally sucked down a gulp of bubble tea. “Are you serious?!”

“I really wish I wasn’t.”

“Ren, you can’t let this continue!”

“Lady Ann is right!” Morgana added. “This has gotten out of hand!”

He bowed his head. “I know. We’re all getting together tomorrow and talking it through.”

“And then what?” Ann demanded. “Are you gonna tell them you wanna date them both?”

“No, it’s about the mission first. Depending on how things go, I’ll rearrange the teams so they only have to deal with each other in the real world.”

Morgana’s tail curled. “Hrrm… Well, I can’t say I disapprove of your priorities, but…”

“It’s the real world they’re having problems in,” Ann pointed out. “Though I’m definitely all for keeping them apart in the Metaverse if they hate each other so much they try to kill each other.”

Ren clenched his hands. “…Yeah.”

“What set them off, anyway?” she added. “Haru-chan’s not the violent type—when it comes to people anyway—and Akechi-kun’s usually good at being in control of himself. Though I guess he hasn’t been lately.”

“I’m not sure. I only heard part of the argument. That’s one of the things we’ll talk about.”

Ann peered at him in suspicion. “Really? You heard part of it, but you don’t have _any_ hunches?”

He grimaced. “That’s… well…”

“A gentleman owns up to when his actions have unintended negative consequences,” Morgana added pointedly.

“…They were arguing about Haru’s dad. But…” He leaned an elbow on the table. “I have a gut feeling it was really about me. When I broke them up, they both backed down, like they didn’t want me mad at them.”

“It’s definitely a love triangle,” Ann declared, nodding once. “They’re fighting over who gets to date you. They’ve both caught on you like them, but they don’t get you’re trying to ease them into the idea of a polycule, so now they think it’s gotta be one or the other.”

Ren hesitated again. He had a sinking feeling she was right. “This isn’t what I wanted.”

“Well, you caused it anyway, mister!” Ann retorted, stabbing her fork in his direction. Oof. This had to be how Ryuji felt whenever Ann put him on blast. “How’re you going to fix it?”

“Like I said, we’re going to get together and talk things over tomorrow.”

“That doesn’t fix the triangle! You already said you’re focusing on the mission! When’re you going to tell them you like them both so they know they don’t have to fight over you?”

“Like I said, once I’ve eased them into the idea of—”

“Nope. No way. Denied,” Ann interrupted. “You’re not the only one who gets to make a decision about this, buster. That’s not fair to either of them. You have to tell them the truth right away, or it’ll just get worse. No more playing around!”

His frown deepened. “I’m not playing around.”

“Oh yeah? And what about all that topless stretching you did in front of them?”

Ren made a face at Morgana. “You told her that, too?”

Morgana developed a sudden and immediate need to wash his face.

He sighed, then returned his attention to Ann. “Okay. I was playing around _then_. But when they were both into it, and we sat together, I realized I really like and want to be with them both. But Haru has good reason to dislike Akechi, and Akechi’s spot back on the team is still tenuous. I didn’t want to push either of them before they were ready.”

“And what if they’re never ready? Don’t you think it’s really unfair to ask Haru to share you with someone she can’t forgive? Or to ask Akechi-kun to share you with someone who hates him?”

“I do think they can get along,” Ren argued. “Maybe they won’t ever _like_ each other, but Akechi’s serious about trying to make up for what he did. Even if I don’t date both or even either of them, there’s value in helping them come to terms with each other.”

Ann considered this, expression thoughtful as she slurped her bubble tea. She set it down and pointed out, “But that’s not what’s happening.”

Ren rubbed his forehead. “I know.”

Morgana cleared his throat. “You haven’t forgotten what we discussed either, right?”

He shook his head. “No.” Catching Ann’s puzzled look, he added, “Morgana had me think over who I’d pick if I could only have one. Don’t tell anyone else, but I decided on Haru.”

She leaned her chin on one hand. “Hmm… Then if you already know you like Haru better, why aren’t you sticking with her?”

“It’s not that I like her _better_. I care a lot about both of them. But...” He scratched his hair. “If I set aside my feelings and look at it logically, Haru’s the obvious choice.”

“‘Obvious,’ huh… That kinda makes me feel sorry for Akechi-kun,” Ann mused, eyelashes drooping.

“I don’t really like it either. I don’t think people should approach love like it’s a puzzle to be solved,” Ren replied. “That’s why I don’t want to give up on how I feel because the choice is ‘obvious.’”

“Are you sure you’re not just being greedy or indecisive? Like—okay, that was a rude way of putting it,” she added at his scowl, “but hear me out. You may _think_ you like them both, and maybe you even do? But you already said you’ll pick Haru-chan if it comes down to that, which means, basically, you know who you want to be with. Instead of letting your thirst get the better of you, wouldn’t it would be fairer to them both if you pick her and be done with it?”

Ren narrowed his eyes. “No.”

Morgana sighed. “Ren, please don’t be so stubborn. This is no time to be a sore loser.”

He stood up, startling the two into silence. “Neither of you are listening. I’m not just thirsting after them, and this isn’t some game to me.

“I. Love. Them.

“I love Haru. I love Goro. Both of them are important to me. Haru makes me warm and happy; I want to support her as she figures out her own happiness. Goro makes me feel alive; I want to help him pick his life back up and find the right path. I want to be there for them. I want them to be with me.

“So picking just Haru would be an insult to how I feel about Goro, and picking just Goro would be an insult to how I feel about Haru. I know I fucked up in how I handled this, and that’s on me for being selfish, you’re right there. But I’m going to make that up to both of them. I won’t just give up on either of them, because my feelings for each are equal in strength. And even if I absolutely _have_ to pick one, I won’t let either of them think they weren’t loved. Haru and Goro mean the world to me, and I _will_ make sure they know it. That’s what they both deserve.”

Morgana blinked rapidly, ears swiveling until they pointed straight up. “R-Ren… I didn’t realize you felt that strongly…”

Ann meanwhile clasped her hands over her face, wide eyes sparkling with barely unshed tears. If they were in a manga, her pupils would have turned into hearts. “Th-that’s so romantic, Ren…! You really are serious about both of them!”

Ren leaned back, smiling in relief. “You finally get it?”

She nodded once emphatically. “Yeah!” She took a huge, enthusiastic bite of cake, then set down her fork and swallowed. “Okay! Now that I’ve heard you out, I do believe you when you say you sincerely like them both. I think you’ve been thinking about this a lot, too.”

“I have.”

“But there’s still a problem: you’re _totally_ letting what you want get in the way of doing right by Haru and Akechi-kun!” she chided him. “ I said already a s long as you don’t come out about being polyamorous, they’re both gonna think they have to fight over you, but if you don’t bring that up as a possibility , you’ re not letting them ha ve a chance to figure out how _they_ feel about it. Do either of them even know polyamory is a thing? Haru’s so sheltered, and Akechi-kun… who even knows?”

“I… don’t know.” Ren held a hand to his mouth, eyebrows furrowing. “Now that you mention it, I never thought to ask.”

“Oh boy,” Ann groaned, facepalming. “This is exactly what I mean, Ren. Can you really blame me for thinking you were trying to two-time?”

Ouch. That stung like hell. Still, it stung because it was true, so he decided to take it on the chin. “What do you think I should do?”

“Tell! Them! The! Truth! Or if you’re _really_ insisting on easing them into it, ease them into it by asking how they’d feel about dating more than one person at once!” Ann insisted. She leaned forward, expression gentling. “I know it’s hard to be forthright with your own feelings, especially when it comes to people you like. God knows it was so hard for me to even admit to myself I liked Shiho, let alone tell her how I felt. It was even harder when she turned me down. But you’ll be glad you were. I promise.”

Ren mulled it over. For good or ill, she was right. As annoyed as he’d been that Morgana had gone behind his back, now he was grateful for it; Ann had cut through all the bullshit and told him what he needed to hear.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll talk to them about it tomorrow, after we’re done discussing the mission.”

“Great!” she enthused. After another hearty bite of cake, she added, “I’m actually rooting for you now, you know. Akechi-kun and Haru are both clearly head over heels for you, and I’d hate to see either of them come away from this with a broken heart.”

“Really? Even Akechi?”

“Well, yeah.” She twirled her fork around a pile of cream. “He’s just such a mess. When I think about how he’s never had any real friends, it breaks my heart. Before I met Shiho, I was alone too, you know? I know how it feels to have people judge you for superficial reasons. And, well.” She coughed into one hand. “I also totally get what it’s like to fall for your first real friend. It makes me want to root for him.”

“Ehhh?” Morgana declared. “But… but what about Haru?”

“I’m rooting for her, too!” Ann protested, looking down at him. “She’s so sweet, and she deserves to get treated right. I think Ren’s right to pick her too if he has to pick one. But if things fell apart, Haru has me and everyone else, because we’re all friends, not just her and Ren. Akechi-kun feels like… he sort of tolerates the rest of us because we’re in Ren’s orbit, same as he is, but he’s really only here for him, kind of thing.”

“Mmm. You’re not wrong,” Ren said slowly, thinking back to the battle on the Cruise of Pride.

“I get that sense from him too,” Morgana agreed, tail curling. “That’s part of why I’m worried. If he gets hope from Ren they could be together romantically, only for Ren to pick Haru over him, who knows how he might react?”

“I’ll take responsibility for that,” Ren said. “Like I said, I don’t want him feeling like he was unloved. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, though.”

“D’you have a plan for the talk?” Ann wondered. “Is Ryuji gonna wingman for you or something?”

Ren shook his head. “I’ve been flying solo, so to speak.”

“Whaaat? Really? I thought for sure you’d be getting someone to help you out!”

He chuckled ruefully and rubbed the back of his head, then took a drink of his coffee. “I figured you’d all tell me to pick Haru and be done with it.”

“Oof. Okay, fair. But if you’re gonna seriously try to get a polycule going on, you really should have Ryuji wingman for you. You’re gonna need the support.”

“Agreed, but Ryuji doesn’t know I like them. Hell, Ryuji doesn’t even know I’m queer.”

“Seriously? Why not?”

Ren set down his cup. “Listen. He’s a great guy. Ever since I moved to Tokyo, he’s always had my back. I love him like a brother, and I’d trust him with my life. He’s my best friend. But—and I say this with nothing but affection in my heart—let’s face it: he’s kind of a dumbass.”

“True,” Ann said, crossing her legs. “What about Yusuke, then?”

“Yusuke once looked at a brother and sister sharing a friendly boat ride on the lake, mistook them for a couple, and declared them the Adam and Eve of passionate romance.”

“Yikes. The Boss? He’s an adult; I’m sure he’s got lots of experience!”

“I thought about it, but he’s ultra-straight, and I’m not out to him. I don’t wanna risk getting kicked out.”

“You think he’d kick you out over that? After all this time?”

Ren shrugged awkwardly. “Some things you’re better off not trying to find out.”

“Mmm… Yeah, I hear you.” She tilted her head in thought, then perked. “Hey, there’s always Mishima-kun!”

Ren stared at Ann. Ann held his stare and kept a straight face for about three seconds before she lost it. Both of them cracked up laughing at the same time.

“Okay, okay, that was mean,” Ann admitted, wiping away a tear. “And of course Akechi-kun’s out of the picture. Could you imagine him wingmanning for anyone, anyway? He’s too handsome and popular; he’d end up stealing your girl’s heart instead.”

“I don’t think that’d be a problem with Haru.”

“True. You’ve got a totally different problem there instead.”

They each mulled on this for a moment, Ann taking advantage of the moment of silence to polish off her cake. As she sipped her bubble tea, stroking Morgana’s back, she leaned back on her chair.

“Okay. I decided. _I’ll_ wingman for you,” she declared.

“Really?” Ren and Morgana chorused, if in opposite tones.

“Yeah! I want you guys to be happy too, you know!” She leaned her elbows on the table. “So, let’s recap. You were trying to get Haru and Akechi-kun to get along better with each other, and then when they did, you were going to tell them you like them both and ask them if they’d be up for polyamorous dating. Right?”

Ren nodded.

“But right now they’re getting along worse than ever, so you’re gonna talk to them tomorrow about it, then come out with the truth. Right?”

“Uh huh.”

“If you want my advice, if you wanna ease them into it before you get into the heavy-hitting stuff, I’d say try to give them something to bond over. Maybe channel your charm into being funny? If they laugh together, that could help ease things a little between them.”

Ren rested his chin on his hand, considering this. “Hmmm…”

“Or else try asking both of them for help with something before you have The Talk. Everyone likes to feel needed.”

“Like what?”

“How about studying? You’ve been ‘dead’ for a while. You’re probably _way_ behind on schoolwork, right? And finals are coming up right after the election!”

He hung his head. “Ugh. Thanks for reminding me.”

“Sorry. But that means it’s perfect, right?”

“Yeah. Good idea. Thanks.”

“Anytime! And if you think a big group would make it easier, just give me a ring!” She sighed. “God knows I need to get some studying done, too...”

Morgana cleared his throat. “If you want to give those two something to bond over, maybe you could ask about the Okumura Foods board. Haru said yesterday it’s going well so far thanks to Akechi’s help. Ask for details, and she’ll have to focus on the positives.”

“Oooh, that’s smart, Morgana!” Ann gushed.

Ren nodded, smiling. It’d be a natural topic given the nature of their mission in Mementos earlier, too. “Yeah. Thanks.”

He sighed. “I want her to be happy too, you know. And we all still have the mission to worry about. This is a bad time to have to juggle romance and a heist.”

Ann nodded, sobering. “That reminds me, Makoto and me are gonna hit ‘Hollywood’ soon, see how far in we can get…”

* * *

“Hell yeah! We’re finally in!” Ryuji whooped, pushing the door to the chuka-soba ramen place open and letting Akechi and Yusuke inside. “Hope you’re both good an’ hungry, because the wait’s over at last!”

“It _does_ smell delicious in here,” Akechi said as he walked inside. Dr. Takemi’s painkillers they weren’t, but a couple tabs of ibuprofen had been enough to tame his headache from earlier. Still, best to get food in him while he could. If he was dehydrated, eating and drinking would ensure it wouldn’t come back. “Which type of ramen do you recommend?”

“My favorite’s the shoyu. Gotta love that soy sauce broth!”

“Then I’ll have that, please and thank you.”

“Hmm…” Yusuke mused. “I believe I shall order the shoyu ramen as well, with extra egg and pork, please.”

Ryuji made a face. “Extra egg _and_ pork? Come on, man, I’m not made of money here.”

But when the three of them reached the cashier, who worked industriously next to the ramen chef who crafted each bowl with speed and care, Ryuji ordered a bowl with those extras all the same. A problem arose when he had to pay. Opening up his wallet, he found he was about 1500 yen short—almost two bowls of ramen worth.

“H-Huh? I coulda sworn I had more than this...” he said slowly, sweating. He flashed the cashier a strained grin. “I, uh, I’m sure I got it in another pocket, gimme just a sec!”

As he patted himself down frantically, Akechi frowned slightly and glanced at Yusuke. His attention was on Ryuji. Akechi leaned carefully on the counter, holding himself at an angle. A moment later, he said, “Huh? Sakamoto, did you drop that?”

“What? What’d I drop?” Ryuji stepped back and looked under his feet, and promptly found a pair of 1000 yen bills on the floor between him and the counter. Relief flooded his face as he picked them up. “Oh hey, _here_ it is! Dang, must’ve fallen out when I pulled out my wallet! Haha, that sure gave me a scare!”

“I’m glad you found it,” Akechi said with a pleasant smile. Still angled to hide his back, he slipped his own wallet back in his uniform pocket. Since now he was focused on Ryuji, he didn’t catch the long glance Yusuke sent his way.

Soon the three of them were seated together at the counter, bowls of shoyu ramen steaming before them. The broth was clear and flavorful, not too rich with a kick of ginger; the fresh-made noodles were hearty and chewy; and the slices of pork were generous and not too fatty. Not too many vegetables, but what it did have were still good. Akechi generally didn’t care about the flavor of what he ate, as long as it was palatable, but he could see why Ryuji recommended this ramen so highly. Given the line they’d had to wait in to get in, it seemed this place was fairly popular, too. He added it to his mental list of restaurants-to-recommend.

“Delicious,” Yusuke declared, smiling with pleasure after swallowing a spoonful of broth. “Truly the best remedy for the winter cold is hot soup.”

“Right?” Ryuji said, grinning. “I told you guys this ramen was the best! What d’you think, Akechi?”

Akechi, who was in the middle of chewing bamboo sprouts, swallowed. “It’s quite good. Do you and Amamiya come here together often?”

“Every so often, yeah! He loves it too!”

“Hmm… Perhaps I’ll ask him to join me here next time, then.”

Ryuji slurped up several strands of noodles with gusto. “Too bad he couldn’t come with this time,” he remarked around a mouthful. “Wonder what Ann was so mad about. But hey, at least it’s not at me this time!” He swallowed, then looked at him with a mix of concern and interest. “So—Akechi. You doin’ okay so far?”

“Oh—yes, thank you. My headache’s already gone.”

“No, I don’t mean that, I mean with the group. Y’know…” He scratched his head. “Haru said she was tired an’ all, and you seem kinda more down than usual.”

Akechi blinked. “Do I?” He forced a smile. Somehow, it came less easily than usual. “I suppose that’s the headache to blame. I’m all right now, I assure you.”

“Okay, but what about in general?”

“In general?”

“You know… like…” Ryuji grimaced, glanced around, and lowered his voice. “With your dad and shit.”

Akechi tensed. In the corner of his eye, he could see Yusuke glance their way in the middle of gorging himself. His smile strained further. “It’s… fine,” he forced. “I’ve come to realize the uselessness of revenge. I’m not…”

Words abruptly failed him. He trailed off. He stared down at his mostly-full bowl. He set down his chopsticks. He drained his water glass.

“My dad’s a shithead, too,” Ryuji offered, tentative, like a hand held out to a stray cat he wasn’t sure wouldn’t scratch him. “He ran out on me and my mom years ago. It pisses me off every time I think about it. If I saw him today, I’d pro’ly at _least_ wanna punch his lights out. So… y’know… I get how you feel, man. And… you know… if you wanna talk about it—”

“I don’t,” Akechi said, voice tight.

“O-oh. Sorry.”

“It’s… fine,” he repeated. He no longer tried to force a smile. “I understand and appreciate what you’re trying to do. It’s just… not something I want to discuss in public.”

“Oh. Right. Duh, I shoulda thought of that.”

He didn’t respond. Ryuji hovered his chopsticks over his bowl, looking intensely awkward, and Akechi was more than vindictive enough to think he deserved it. The dour atmosphere might have continued indefinitely had Yusuke not lifted his bowl, drank down the dregs, and set it down.

“Ryuji,” he said, looking over at him, expression completely serious. “May I order seconds?”

“Seconds?! Are you serious?!” he choked. “You annihilated that bowl in record time and you want _more_?!”

“Yes.”

While Ryuji made more strangled sounds of disbelief, Akechi pushed his bowl to his left, over towards Yusuke. “Would you like the rest of mine? I’m already full.”

Yusuke beamed at him. “Truly? Then I shall accept your generosity with gratitude!”

“You’re unbelievable, man,” Ryuji said.

“Whhhfffiwhhghhnnyhnhh,” Yusuke replied, mouth already stuffed with noodles.

He shook his head, then looked at Akechi. “You sure you’re good, man? You barely had any.”

“Yes, I’m fine,” he lied. “But I _am_ still thirsty, so if you’ll excuse me—”

“Oh, sit down, sit down, I’ll buy you a drink! What d’you want?”

“Ah… Coffee, please. And a water refill, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“You got it, dude! Be right back!”

Akechi watched Ryuji go. Since Yusuke was still right there, he refrained from breathing a sigh, but he did shut his eyes. Yes, friendship truly was exhausting. But his end goal was worth it. If Ren would love him, he’d put up with a thousand of these walking-on-eggshell conversations.

“Akechi. May I ask you something?”

He glanced at Yusuke, who had paused in demolishing his second bowl. “What is it? If it’s about my father...”

He shook his head. “No. Truthfully, I have no interest in your father.” He paused, then bowed his head, looking troubled. “It’s about _my_ father. Or rather, my father figure.”

Akechi’s eyebrows rose. “You mean Madarame?”

Yusuke nodded. “This is… difficult for me to ask. But I suspect you’re the only one who would know,” he said haltingly. “His Shadow mentioned a man in a black mask who terrorized his Palace… That was you, correct?”

“Yes…”

“If he was in such fear of you, does that mean you dealt with him often?”

“Relatively so, I suppose.”

“Did you… converse much?”

“We didn’t ‘converse,’ per se, but I did extract a significant amount of information from him in the course of my, ah, side work.” He paused a beat. “Which information were you interested in?”

“As keen as always. You saw right through me.” He bowed his head, shoulders hunched. “Well… this may sound foolish to you, but, ah… did he… that is to say… ever mention anything about, ah… me?”

Akechi blinked. “You’re talking about Shadow Madarame, not Madarame himself, correct?”

“Y-yes.”

For a moment, he said nothing. Then he folded his hands on the edge of the counter. “…He did. But I don’t think it’s anything you would want to have repeated.”

“I… I see.” Yusuke fell silent for a moment. Then: “Could you tell me anyway? Please.”

“I’m serious. It would only upset you, if you haven’t already heard it all anyway.”

“…I see.” He shut his eyes. “Allow me to retract the question, then.”

“Why did you want to know?” Akechi asked. “You’ve confronted his Shadow yourself already. Shadows don’t tend to be subtle; anything you wanted to know, I’m sure he already spilled.”

“Yes, but…” He rested a pair of fingers on his forehead. “This will no doubt sound nonsensical to you. But Madarame raised me from childhood as if I were his own… or at least, it felt that way to me. And while I did indeed confront his Shadow, we only had so much time to talk. So I simply wondered… that is… if, in the course of your interrogations…”

“If he ever indicated that, deep down, he actually cared for you?” Akechi guessed.

Yusuke nodded once.

He gave him a long, lingering look. It _did_ sound foolish. But that was because… “No, I understand how you feel,” he murmured. “I went through that phase too.”

Yusuke’s eyebrows rose. Before he could speak, though, Ryuji ambled back into view and plopped down back on his seat at Akechi’s right.

“Sorry, man, they don’t have coffee here an’ I didn’t wanna wander too far to find a vending machine,” he said, “but I got you two waters! Hope that works.”

“That’s fine. That’s probably better for me, anyway,” Akechi replied, accepting the two glasses and draining one of them. He let out a short breath as he set it down, then glanced at Ryuji, who’d returned to eating. “Say, Sakamoto?”

“Hm?”

“Finals are coming up. How are your studies coming along?”

He made a face and slurped up his current mouthful. “Oh my god, don’t remind me.”

Akechi smiled. “If you like, and if you feel you need it, perhaps I could tutor you a bit? As thanks for dinner.”

Ryuji brightened. “Seriously?! That’d be awesome! I’m _so_ friggin’ behind.”

“I wasn’t aware that you had ever been caught up,” Yusuke commented.

“Oh, shut up!” He slung an arm around Akechi’s shoulders, grinning. “So when you wanna do this, new best friend?”

“…Is a mere offer of tutoring all it takes to be your best friend?”

“Wh—hey, it was a joke, all right? Don’t take it so seriously.”

“Ah! Yes. Of course. Um… Let me double-check my schedule and I’ll text you back, all right?”

“Sounds good!”

After that, Ryuji and Yusuke polished off their dinners, and the trio left the restaurant to head home. As they walked to the nearest train station, Akechi glanced at Yusuke.

“Kitagawa,” he said. “About what you were asking about earlier...”

Yusuke blinked at him. “Yes?”

“A Shadow will tell you point-blank what that person really thinks. They don’t lie. But they also lack nuance, particularly when they feel in control. Now that his heart has been changed, you could probably have a relationship with him again… if you wanted to.”

“Hm? What’s this all about?” Ryuji asked.

Yusuke ignored him in favor of bowing his head. “It’s rather complicated. I do, and at the same time, I don’t. I suppose… I’m afraid of visiting him in jail, only to be rejected again.” He sighed. “If he never cared about me after all, perhaps it would be best to continue to move on with my life.”

“Seriously, what’re we talking about??” Ryuji asked.

“…You’re quite mature,” Akechi remarked, likewise ignoring Ryuji. “I could probably stand to take notes from you.”

Yusuke shook his head. “No, this isn’t maturity. If I were truly above this, I wouldn’t still have these lingering doubts.”

“No, it’s natural to have doubts, I think. Everyone wants to be loved.” Akechi lowered his gaze. Though his had mostly had to do with matters other than Shido himself— “In retrospect, I should have listened to my doubts more.”

Yusuke gave him a long, thoughtful look, but didn’t speak.

“Guyyys!!” Ryuji whined, taking advantage of the silence. “Don’t leave me out of the conversation!”

Akechi looked at him, deadpan serious. “My apologies. But you must be a level four friend or higher to unlock our tragic backstories.”

Ryuji choked. “DID YOU JUST MEME ON ME?? I BOUGHT YOU RAMEN, DUDE! I BOUGHT YOU RAMEN!!”

Akechi laughed and dodged Ryuji’s fake punch, which led to him dancing around Yusuke as Ryuji chased after him. Yusuke did nothing to interfere, but he did smile at their antics until at last the three reached the station. Ryuji gave up the chase at that point, leaning on his own knees to pant, while Akechi settled in on Yusuke’s other side, unruffled and smiling brightly.

“Geez, Akechi, stop bein’ so dodgy,” he gasped. “It’s friggin’ cheating!”

“Ahaha. You’re too kind,” he replied, beaming. “Well then, thank you both for the pleasant evening, Sakamoto, Kitagawa. Please feel free to invite me out again sometime.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ryuji grumbled. Still, he grinned and flipped his hand up in farewell. “See you later, man!”

“Good night,” Yusuke said, nodding to Akechi.

The three parted then. As Akechi headed for his part of the train terminal, he could hear Ryuji and Yusuke at his back:

“Seriously, how’d you get him to talk to you? What’d you do, Yusuke?”

“I didn’t do anything in particular…”

After that, they were too far away to hear. Akechi huffed a faint breath, but he smiled as he did so. Did he think friendship was exhausting? When its dividends paid out, it became astonishingly refreshing. He hadn’t felt this needed in a long time. Things had gone well with Makoto, too, if in a different way. Narrowing his focus—working on the group one or two members at a time—was indeed the winning strategy. Once Haru and Futaba were in the minority, he could make a move on Ren.

The prospect itself was exciting. What sort of move would charm him…? The traditional dinner and a movie? No, he’d probably prefer something unusual, something exciting. Maybe he could invite him to his favorite rock-climbing place to go bouldering with him? _That_ felt better, like something Ren would enjoy. This way, too, Akechi could share a piece of himself with him. Then, afterwards… coffee and conversation would be good. Not Leblanc; the coffee there _was_ excellent, but he wanted someplace different, someplace private. He’d have to go over his list of restaurants later, pick one that would suit Ren’s tastes while also having good coffee and a private, intimate air.

Then after that… maybe a walk along the bay? No, that felt trite. Dancing…? Also trite, but perhaps in a good way. Then again, bouldering would take a lot of energy. Dancing after that would probably wear them out. Maybe a cool-down walk along the bay wouldn’t be a bad idea after all. There were so many possibilities, it made his heart pound with anticipation. What a complete turnaround from his dour mood earlier! He was so glad he’d accepted Ryuji’s invitation. To think, if he hadn’t, he’d be sulking at home right now!

So lost was he in his daydreams of a happy future, Akechi almost didn’t hear his phone ringing. The ringtone brought him back to reality, and he paused, then went to one side of the station, up against the hallway of windows that overlooked the city. The caller ID showed it was Sae.

Oh, right. She thought he had a problem with his savings account. He hit accept and held the smartphone to his ear. “Hello, Sae-san. Sorry I didn’t let you know earlier, but that issue I mentioned ended up resolving itself.”

“Oh? What was the matter?”

“Ah, there was a transfer that seemed like it hadn’t gone through due to issues on the other end, but it turns out it just needed an extra day. I’m glad I hadn’t troubled you with it after all.”

“I see. All’s well that ends well, then. Are you busy right now?”

“Now?” Akechi half-turned to glance out the window. The sun had already set, and night was falling. “No, I was about to head home, actually.”

“Would you be willing to come by the prosecutor’s office? I need your brain.”

Akechi’s mouth twisted into a sardonic smile. Ah, yes. She needed his _brain_ , but not _him_. Typical Sae. Typical adult. Still, as long as she needed any of him, that was enough. “Certainly. Do you need me to bring anything in particular?”

“Do you have the files on _that_ organization on you?”

“Some. It’s not safe to have them all on me at all times, you know.”

“Yes, I understand. What you have now is fine; we can be more particular later. Let’s work this case, Akechi-kun. I’ll treat you to dinner later.”

_We_ , huh. _We…_ As in her and him, together, as a united front. His smile turned sincere. Somehow, even if it _was_ coming from Sae, he liked the sound of that. “I already ate, but if the night goes long, I’ll take you up on that,” he said cheerfully. “I’ll take the next train over. See you in, oh, twenty, thirty minutes?”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

He hung up, tucked his phone in his pocket, and hurried towards where the train to the prosecutor’s office was as he hummed to himself. Yes, friendship or partnership, it really did feel good to be needed.

Now to make Ren need him, too.


End file.
